A Wizard's Redemption
by Kage Kitsune
Summary: Harry's ready to take a stand and so is Tom. It's book six as we fall into the sequel of A Wizard's Lament. A few different odds and ends, a few steps away from the book and a couple of Shonen Ai gay pairing usually not all found in the same story
1. Starting Over Summer

Well here's the first chapter to the sequel. As promised, your favorite characters (a few of them that are the ones that drive me mad trying to keep in character and then I go mad and still fail) are back. So no one has to kill me, no one has to skin me alive or tell me I'm a horrible person…I'm actually typing this up on Friday the 20th the book being released at midnight which I've already got reserved can't wait to hit the party at the bookstore. I sound like a geek saying that, but as a loser by choice, oh well. I'm getting the book and than the few of you who were, poking me about if there's going to be another sequel or not will get your question answered after I finished reading it. Hope everyone else enjoys book 7 as well, I know I'm looking forward to it…very anxious to see what happens to whom and stuff.

**Warnings: Shonen ai **as usual. Also, this is a **SEQUEL**. You're gonna be kind of lost if you haven't read A Wizard's Lament. Just thought you'd like to know.

**Notes: (X) **is pov and or time jump

Chapter, 1: Starting Over Summer

Harry growled sitting up in bed and glared at his door. His uncle was banging on the door trying to wake him up, which he'd achieved easily, no doubt along with the entire neighborhood at the rate he was going. He closed his eyes tightly, counted to three and wished his uncle was still to scared to get near him, but that fear had ebbed away soon enough after he'd arrived back at Privet Drive, no order members to back him up. He did however have some kind of back up of course.

"YOU," he screamed and Draco sat up beside the Gryffindor rubbing his eyes. He grabbed the potion bottle on Harry's nightstand and took a small sip of it, his entire body becoming ghost like. "I'M COMING IN!"

"No kidding," Harry muttered and he pulled his glasses on as the door burst opened. Uncle Vernon stomped in scowling his face quite red. He looked at the two boys in the bed, his eyes narrowing even more.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" His voice rang out so loud Harry looked to see if the window glass had shattered. Upon seeing that it hadn't he jerked back around to look at his uncle so he wouldn't get into more trouble than he already supposedly was in. His uncle hadn't noticed his movements though Harry realized, his eyes fixed on the two of them in bed, two boys.

"I was sleeping," he said leaning back slightly trying to look tired, it wasn't hard, his uncle had been doing this all night and he barely had any sleep under him.

"WITH THIS OTHER!….I WILL NOT HAVE THIS IN MY HOUSE!" His finger was inches from Harry's face and he was so tempted to bite it, but thought better of it. There was no need for him to be thrown out of the house when Dumbledore would be retrieving him so soon.

"What are you talking about?" He yawned again and looked around pretending that he only saw Hedwig. "You always let Hedwig stay here, she's my pet."

"NOT YOUR BLASTED OWL BOY! THAT!" He jerked his finger away from Harry's nose to Draco who was just sitting there, already halfway back asleep. "NO ONE SAID YOU COULD BRING HOME ANY FRIENDS!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, are you seeing things," he asked forcing a fake look of alarm on his face.

"YOU!" His uncle was so enraged at the thought of something thinking him nuts, especially that something being Harry, he moved to grab Draco around the neck only to have his hand go right through him. "Wh, what?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about…" He looked to where his uncle's hand had shot out and shrugged looking back at him. "Really…are you okay?"

"Fi, fine…" His uncle managed before he stormed out of the room slamming the door shut behind him.

"Gods, every morning," Harry sighed as he lied back down. He took his glasses off and put them back down on the nightstand. He took the potion bottle from Draco, placed it there as well and put the pillow over his head. "I'm really getting sick of him, regardless of how priceless the look on his face is every night he tries to catch us off guard."

"Yeah, he's probably after me, because I knocked that fat pig onto his butt before we went to bed," Draco sneered, he was obviously happy with his work.

"When did you do that?"

"Last night about ten," he laughed lying back down. "He tried to slam my head into a wall so I pushed him down the staircase." Harry instantly started laughing along with him. "He was okay that personal padding he's got back there was more than enough." Harry nodded under the pillow his muffled laughter still flowing out.

"Alright…we said we'd rest a bit today. Can't do anything until I get that time turner," Harry said somewhat depressed. He wasn't going to let it get to him though, he'd waited this long now he had just a bit longer. Just a few more days and his boyfriend would once again be in his arms.

"Yeah."

**Protecting your home and family against the dark forces**

**(X)**

**1. You are advised not to leave the house alone.**

Harry and Draco made their way up the small hill leading to the park near the Dursley's home. They walked over to the swings sitting on them quietly. It was safer to talk there then at the house and here Draco didn't need to consume a ghostly visage potion every time someone opened the door. There was only so much of it after all. So the park had quickly become their refuge from the house. It also allowed for them a bit of air and room, the bedroom wasn't exactly huge with two teens living in it.

"So he's going to bring the time turner with him on Friday," Draco asked staring up at the sky.

"Yeah, that's what he said," Harry replied his eyes also on the sky. The thought of having Tom back made him so happy and yet he wondered if he was going to have to keep a secret what had happened. Surely if he told Tom he'd accidentally got him killed, his boyfriend would just break up with him instead of forcing Harry not to go to the Depart of Mysteries. Even if that was the case though, Harry had long ago decided he'd rather not have him than have him dead.

"Right." Draco stretched out and let himself start swinging as Harry had taught him. "Think everything is going to work?"

"Has so far," Harry, replied. He closed his eyes resting his head against the cold chain, between it and the wind blowing it felt very calming. He hoped things would remain this peaceful so he could share it with his boyfriend. "Dudley's friend is staying the night tonight; friend's parents are running off somewhere or something."

"Can I destroy it?"

"Yes."

**2. Particular care should be taken during the hours of darkness. Whenever possible, arrange to complete journeys before night has fallen.**

The sun now setting, the two boys began heading back to number four Privet Drive. Draco took a sip of the potion he kept with him at all times and followed Harry into the house. Without even waiting for someone to get after them, they ran upstairs into Harry's room and shut the door. Grinning Harry pulled out a bag of hamburgers and handed some to Draco. The boy had only taken a small sip of the potion, just enough to keep him ghostly until he was back in Harry's room. He grabbed the bag quite solid again.

"The people in this house really need a house elf," he muttered. "This is ridicules. No wonder you were so screwed up when you first came to Hogwarts."

"Watch it," Harry warned taking a bite of his burger. Lupin had switched some of Harry's money into muggle's money so Draco and he could obtain food without running into problems with the Dursleys.

"And if I won't?"

"I'll let Dudley rape you," he smirked. Draco chucked the burger wrapper at him, both laughing. Rape by Dudley had been their favorite threat since they'd arrived at the house.

"You're a sick boy Harry! I order you to snap your wand and become…what were those things called?"

"Accountant," Harry asked laughing. Draco had been curious as to what one was when Ron had mentioned he had a cousin who was doing that for a living.

"Yeah, that thing, accountent."

"Tant," Harry snickered correcting him. Draco jumped him then and they started wrestling. Harry had to admit that any feelings of despair he had, had fast faded after they'd arrived here. Draco had somehow managed to cheer Harry up and their plot to obtain what they'd lost was quickly coming together. All that was left was the time turner, which Dumbledore was bringing to him that very week. There was a loud noise from down stairs and they both jerked up smirking. "His friend's here," Harry said with a grin.

**(X)**

**3. Review the security arrangements around your house, making sure that all family members are aware of emergency measures such as shields, disillusionment charms, and, in the case of underage family members, side-along-apparitions. **

Emerald green flames shot up in the fireplace and Lupin took a step back a box clutched tightly in his hands.

"Tonks was Buckbeak okay," he asked as she stepped out of the fireplace. She dusted herself off nodding to him a noticeably fake grin on her face.

"Back at Hogwarts and as happy as can be," she sighed sounding like she wished she could be that happy. "You should have seen him and Hagrid; they were both so happy…What's in the box?" She walked over to look inside, but he pulled it away before she could see anything.

"Just a few things from my room," he muttered and Tonks looked away quickly. Both of them had been having issues coming to terms with Sirius' death. In the end, the only ones being able to comfort one another was themselves as they tried again and again to assure one another they'd see him after they finished their time up here on earth.

"S, Sorry, I didn't. Oh boy," she started laughing nervously. "I'm gonna…yeah, fix the umm…charms," she ran off. Lupin smiled shaking his head and sat the box down.

'Only two more left,' he thought to himself as he headed back up the stairs sighing. Things just hadn't been the same without his lover.

**4. Agree on security questions with close friends and family as to detect Death Eaters masquerading as others by use of the Polyjuice potion.**

Lupin grabbed the two boxes left from within the room and headed back down the hall. He took the steps down and froze hearing all the magical locks on the door click. He'd been warned to hurry, that the Malfoy's could possibly come and take number twelve at any time. He set the boxes down and pulled his wand out immediately, eyes narrowed. He took a step around the stairs expecting to be facing the end of a death eater's wand, when instead he barely had time to react as he hit the floor hard. He winced scrambling to find his wand when something heavy was dropped down onto his chest. The breath shot out of Lupin and he started coughing trying to scream for help.

He threw his arms to the side, his hands searching for anything that could be used for a weapon. His hand eventually closed over the boxes he'd dropped and gaining some of his breath back screamed bringing the object down to connect with the death eater's head. His movement was stopped short, the death eater grabbing him by the wrist stopping him from achieving his goal.

"You'll never take me! I promised Sirius I'd protect Harry!" He wrestled the death eater to the ground flipping him over so that Lupin was now on top of him, pulled his fist back and punched him just as Tonks came in to see what all the commotion was. She gasped and pulled her wand out and shot a paralyzing spell at the death eater.

"Th, thanks," Lupin stuttered getting up and than froze. This death eater had a dog's tail. "Tonks undo the sell," he screamed quickly and Tonks not understanding what was going on just stared. Lupin located his own wand and quickly muttered the counter curse. The death eater's form shifted to its full human capacity and Remus ripped the mask off him. Sitting in front of him covered in so much blood Lupin swore it was an inferius until he noticed the gag in his mouth and the rope around his wrists. "How in the world…" Despite common, since Lupin threw his arms around Sirius' neck tightly bringing both of them back onto the floor. "HOW ARE YOU HERE? DUMBLEDORE SAID YOU DIED!" When Lupin got no answer he blushed and removed the gag, just as Tonks came running over and attached herself to Sirius' arm.

"Welcome back," she screamed suddenly cheerful. "I knew you couldn't' be killed! I'm so sorry you were even thought dead!"

"Should really be asking for the password moony," Sirius grinned seeming to be enjoying all the attention regardless of the blood pouring out of his wounds.

"Like a death eater impersonating you would be stupid enough to come in here wearing a death eater's outfit. Not to mention posing as a dead man." He sighed happily his eyes closing.

"Well, I'm only here, because of Harry's…" He made an odd noise then before finally saying, "Boyfriend."

"He's still alive then," Lupin asked eagerly. "We have to tell Dumbledore." Of course Harry would have to be informed as well, but Dumbledore needed to know, since that was likely where Aderes would be headed first.

"That kid is already at Hogwarts…let's do something else…like go out to eat. I see my name has been cleared," his grin widened. Both Tonks and Lupin couldn't help, but start laughing, tears streaming down both their faces.

"Whatever you want…for tonight," he added knowing how insane Sirius could be. He couldn't however deny his lover anything at the moment, just too happy to see him alive and moving. It was as if the world had suddenly been set right for him. "And you have to tell us how you suddenly got back," he laughed wiping the tears away.

"Agreed!"

**(X)**

**5. Should you feel that a family member, colleague, friend, or neighbor is acting in a strange manner, contact the Magical Law Enforcement Squad at once. They may have been under the Imperius Curse.**

Dumbledore's office door swung open and closed again. The headmaster didn't bother to look up from the letter he was reading. He'd been expecting a visitor anyway and he was sure they could wait a moment until he was done.

"One moment Dobby, I've almost finished," he said quietly. He knew the house elf would not get angry with him.

"Oh, I look like a house elf now," the figure growled. "Might I suggest you look like one as well with that nose of yours?" Dumbledore sat the piece of long parchment down and stared at the tall sinister figure standing in front of him. He sighed, his door opened again, which at this time was Dobby, who took one look at the figure, gave a loud yelp and ran back down the staircase.

"Well, you've scared Dobby," Dumbledore sighed and pulled out a small bag containing a yellow jellybean type of candy. "Lemon Drop, Tom?" Said boy growled sitting down in the chair across from Dumbledore twitching. He folded his arms across his chest looking highly annoyed -which he was- and Dumbledore took the piece of candy for himself. "Tom, you know I cannot allow you to leave Hogwarts yet. Your body is in no condition for such a thing."

"Harry's scared, he's having nightmares daily," he screamed his fist slamming down onto Dumbledore's desk. "I was useless to him in the ministry, but I'm at least good at comforting him!" A loud cracking sound followed Tom's movement, but the boy didn't seem to pay it any mind.

"Useless? The only things that kept him from being possessed were Sirius and yourself," Dumbledore countered. It seemed to Tom he was annoyed now as well.

"I just want to see Harry as soon as possible," he finally whispered in a defeated tone. Dumbledore and he had been going at it for weeks about this. He'd thought the fool had just been holding him captive here until he got Sirius away from Voldemort, but even having done that, he still seemed to be stuck in this cursed school.

"Listen, I've already spoke to a few people, you'll be going to the Weasley's in a few days. Upon such they will help care for you during that day, Harry will arrive there that night and the two of you shall be reunited." He smiled more. "Before his sixteenth birthday, which they are already planning a surprise party for him." Tom thought for a moment before finally nodding, his surrender making Dumbledore smile. "I must advise you two, not to harm one another to much for the first week or so, less you feel like sewing your body parts back on," Dumbledore added.

"Fine, as long as I get to see him soon…if he'll forgive me that is." Of course the Slytherin had other things on his mind by this point, such as sneaking out of Hogwarts, or ditching the person who'd be taking him to the Weasley's to go to Harry. He'd have left already if Dumbledore hadn't threatened to lock him in Snape's dungeon the rest of the summer and not see Harry until school started.

"Tom, because of you and the others, Harry has matured a great deal. With all the mistakes I made, he forgave me. He said, and these are his words, not mine, 'humans make mistakes…However, how we fix these mistakes or react to make things better as a result of them…that's what really matters,' and I must say, with you having saved Sirius and getting enough energy to bring yourself back as well you have clearly fixed the problem."

"I said I'd obey," he sighed standing up. He felt too tired to really fight anyway and his hand was quite broken at the moment. It almost made him want to agree with Dumbledore and not go after Harry as he had said he'd do, but then love never seems to follow common sense.

"Just do me a favor," he asked stopping halfway through the door.

"Yes Tom?"

"Let me send him a letter."

"Tom-"

"I just want the nightmares to stop! Let me tell him I'm alright," the Slytherin said doing his best not to let his anger show. Why was the headmaster so bent on making Harry wait to find out that both Sirius and himself were alive? They were healed enough now to walk. That should count for something.

"You know I can't allow that."

"You've never explained why though," the heir said finally giving in to his temper and narrowing his eyes. "I want to see him, but you keep me here. He's miserable, why are you driving him insane?" He demanded.

"I am merely keeping him there so the protection spell will remain in place," Dumbledore said his own voice raising in anger. "If he were to find out you and Sirius were alive, he'd leave home immediately and he would not have been present enough in his home for the protection spell to keep working. As for why you can't go, your body would be destroyed before you ever made it there. It still needs time to recuperate."

The logic seemed sound enough even if Tom didn't want to believe it. He knew Harry would run off, which wouldn't be a good thing. He was sure his body wouldn't be completely destroyed, but it wasn't exactly at full health either. He sighed then his shoulders slumping. For now this was the best way to handle the situation.

"Then take Sirius with you when go to get him. His body healed faster than mine." As much as Tom would rather Harry see him first, something had to be done, some way to slightly ease his boyfriend's pain.

"He'd be seeing you the same day, but I do like the idea. I'll request Sirius to come with. Oh, Tom…" The Slytherin stopped and looked back at the headmaster with mild annoyance shown on his face. "I have a request for you…one I really need you to do." He sighed. He should have known he wasn't going to get out of the office easily once he'd stepped into it.

"What is it?"

"I need you to help a certain ghost learn to take solid form…are you up to the task?"

"Will you owe me if I do?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure I'd be in your debt for a bit of time," the headmaster smiled. Tom thought about this for another moment and then nodded slowly. He knew exactly how he could use that debt for his own use and soon too.

"I do this; you're to come to Harry's surprise party." Tom was sure the headmaster thought this request odd, but given how much Harry enjoyed Dumbledore's company and held him in such high regard he figured having the old man around would probably improve his boyfriend's spirits, that Dumbledore had actually taken the time out of his busy day and showed up for his birthday. At least, that's what he wanted Dumbledore to believe. His real request would come later when the headmaster wasn't looking.

"Alright, that sounds fair, though I have to say I'd have come if merely asked."

"Shut up or I'll make you do that and something else," Tom said with a scowl on his face and made his way out of the room. He headed for the hospital wing, he was not feeling good at all despite the plan he'd just managed to piece together in a matter of minutes in Dumbledore's office. Still, even with all his show of being healthy, the truth was his body really wasn't in any condition for much of anything. He allowed his eyes to drift to his now shattered hand and sighed. The end of the week couldn't come soon enough for him.

**(X)**

**6. Should the dark mark appear over any dwelling place or building DO NOT ENTER, but contact the Auror office immediately.**

Harry was currently lying on the floor playing wizard chess with Draco, who was on Harry's bed. It was well pass midnight, nearing almost two, both of them having spent the rest of their night ruining Dudley's night. Between small sips of the potion and the invisibility cloak, they had managed to take a good amount of snacks, mess around with his computer, and took every video they had decided to watch and hid them in places Harry knew Dudley was known to leave things at.

"Ahh, it's been a good night," Draco sighed happily. He took another handful of popcorn staring at it and shrugged before shoving it into his mouth. Draco's fascination with muggle food amused Harry to no ends, especially since someone had told him muggles sometimes ate other muggles and was scared any food he might be eating was actually human.

"Yeah," Harry agreed yawning. "Dumbledore comes the night after tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah." They continued their game both of them muttering at times to the chess pieces. Another hour went by and Harry looked up hearing a pecking noise against his window. He ran over to it and threw it open, Hedwig flying in hooting, she was soaked. "Sorry Hedwig, I didn't know-" Harry's words were cut off as he felt his shirt become soaked from behind.

Growling he turned to the window and looked down. Sure enough refilling their super soakers with the hosepipe was Dudley and his stupid friend Piers. He thought for a moment and nodded to Draco grabbing Hedwig's cage. He hadn't cleaned it yet tonight so there were a few owl pellets from when she'd last eaten. Smirking he opened the window all the way and dumped the owl throw up all over them. The water mixed with the pellets quickly and soon the two boys were screaming about small bones and having dung thrown at them.

"Idiots," Harry muttered pulling the cage back into his room and shutting the window. He placed the cage back on the dresser smiling at Hedwig. "All clean," he said suddenly happy. Draco had to put his face in his pillow so no one could hear him laugh. Harry knew what was going to happen next though. He shut the window, flipped his lights off, threw his wet shirt into the closet and pulled on a new one as quietly as he could. He then proceeded to shove the wizard chess game under his bed and got himself into his bed and into a perfect fake sleeping pose, his glasses on the nightstand, when the two yelling from outside woke up his uncle Vernon.

The giant man screamed expecting to have heard Harry's owl, but when he stomped into his nephews' room no one was awake, not even the owl as Hedwig had perfected the act of 'sleeping' herself over the summer. He kept hearing the screams and so crossed the room Harry and Draco watching silently. He opened the window to see what all the commotion was when he was met with a direct hit to the face blast of water. The two boys inside the room fought back their laughter, they could see the older man shaking and heard Dudley say 'uh-oh' before Harry's uncle had, had enough.

"DUDLEY!" It was the first time Harry had seen Dudley get in trouble, but it was well worth the wait. "INSIDE NOW!" His Aunt ran in a few seconds later, Harry deciding he had to play along sat up looking tired. He faked scrambling for his glasses and put them on frowning.

"Why are you in my room," he asked not even having to fake the yawn that came out of his mouth.

"Keep your window shut boy," his uncle screamed and stormed out, his aunt gave him a glaring look before she followed her husband.

"What did that kid do," he heard her ask.

"Boy didn't do anything, Dudley sprayed me with that confound water gun thing," he screamed stomping down the stairs.

"Come on," Harry whispered. Anytime Harry and Draco needed to hear something in the house, or they were just bored, they would set into action of sneaking around. This was achieved by Harry pulling the invisible cloak over them and going on to drink the potion Snape had made in order to do whatever they wished. Now the both of them no longer solid and or visible upon grabbing both things, they preceded down the stairs quietly to watch the conversation that was taking place.

Dudley already looked quite frightened not that Harry could blame him. He'd been at the end of Uncle Vernon's anger many of times, one of the reasons he refused to miss this scene for anything. He and Draco crossed over to the parlor where Uncle Vernon had sat the two boys down. He looked so angered that it looked like he might finally explode, which Harry was sure his Aunt noticed too, because she was sitting to the side in her usual chair shaking and kept looking at the two boys nervously.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE NEIGHBORS WILL THINK? OUR SON OUT AND SHOOTING WATER AT PEOPLE AT THREE IN THE MORING!"

"Vernon-"

"NO! Petunia! He needs to be punished!" he tired to think of something to say, some kind of punishment, but he didn't seem to know any, at least not one to use against Dudley. Uncle Vernon, who had never punished his own child before could think of no way to actually punish Dudley. In the end, he just ordered Dudley back to his room and made Piers sleep in the guest room.

Draco and Harry quickly moved out of the way to avoid being smashed by Dudley's feet. Piers followed a few moments later. They waited near the cupboard sitting silently until they were sure it was safe for them to inch over towards the front door and listen better to what the two adults in the room were whispering about.

"Vernon, what are we going to do," he heard his aunt ask in a quivering voice. Though this conversation seemed to interest Harry he felt the sudden urge to go back into his bedroom. Without explaining it to Draco, he tapped the boy on the shoulder and they both crawled back up the steps into Harry's room. He removed the cloak and looked around frowning.

"What's wrong," Draco asked curiously, but Harry could only shrug. He had no idea what had called him back up here until he noticed the necklace he usually had around his neck on the nightstand.

"Guess I got a bit uneasy," he muttered pulling the necklace back on. He hadn't realized it'd been off in the first place, nor had he remembered taking it off to begin with. "I wonder why it wasn't around my neck though…" Draco returned his shrug and lied down on the bed. Harry sat down on it staring at the necklace taking in its details for a few moments before sighing. "I wonder if this plan is going to really work."

"Of course it's going to work, we've planned just about every move to make sure it will," Draco reminded him. Harry nodded, but he wasn't so sure anymore of what was going through his mind. He got up, paced the bedroom, and then returned to where he'd been sitting. He removed the necklace stared at it again and then handed it to Draco. "What?"

"It's not as broken as before," he blurted out and Draco looked at him like he was nuts. He looked back at the necklace examining it and handed it back to Harry who looked like he was going to jump him at any given moment.

"I guess it has…" Harry got the feeling that Malfoy was just saying this to make him feel better, but it really looked to him like a few of the cracks had vanished.

"Maybe we should send another letter to Dumbledore…he might know right," he asked hopefully, but Draco just shook his head at him looking like he was going to hit him. He sat up a small scowl on his face.

"Listen Potter, he'll be here Friday. Take a breath, pretend you're not losing your mind and be good," he glared. Harry glared back at him, but he couldn't completely ignore what Draco was saying. He may be losing his mind, he'd been wishing so hard for the necklace to fix itself, for him to walk into the room and see Tom lying on the bed glaring at him and demanding to know where he'd been for so long.

"Alright fine," he sighed. "I might be going mad or something, I just want to see…" His voice trailed off as he saw an owl at the window. He looked over to where Hedwig was asleep in her cage, blinked and walked over to it allowing it in.

"Kane!" Malfoy got up and held his arm out to the owl. It gave him an affectionate bite before holding its leg up with the letter attached to it. He sat down pulling the letter off, the owl hopping onto his shoulder. "It's from Ron," he said when Harry hadn't said anything. "Said he's expecting us Friday and to watch out…something is…" He frowned and handed the letter to Harry. He took it and scanned over it himself.

"Well…that can't be right…can it?"

"I don't know…" Draco replied. "I didn't think so…but I guess it's possible…"

"Well I guess our trip to the Burrow just got a bit more interesting hasn't it," Harry asked setting the letter down.

"Guess so," Malfoy muttered. He looked back to his owl happily the letter being ignored and Harry watched them. He hadn't expected Draco to be so nice to his owl, considering the kind of attitude he seemed to have toward house-elves, but he was glad. If he'd of mistreated it, he'd of probably had Hedwig eat him.

While Draco sat then petting his owl, his attention completely taken, Harry put his focus on the necklace. He was sure that some of the cracks had vanished from it. Perhaps Tom's soul was attached to the necklace? If that was the case then even if his physical form was destroyed, he would still be with the necklace. An idea came into his mind then and he dared a quick look to Draco before getting up.

"Be right back," he muttered leaving the room before Draco could question him. He slipped into the bathroom, locked the door tightly and waited. He had to do this, but was more worried that nothing would happen once he did. The lights already off, he lifted the necklace up in his hands so it could hear him. "Are you allowed to talk yet?" he asked. "Can you show me Tom?" He waited for a few minutes hoping beyond anything that the necklace would at least glow green, but nothing.

Letting out a small groan he placed the necklace back in his shirt and made his way back to his room. So much for that.

**7. Unconfirmed sightings suggest that the Death Eaters may now be using Inferi. Any sighting of an Inferius, or encounter with same, should be reported to the Ministry IMMEDIATELY.**

**TBC**

Well I read the seventh book and it does seem worthwhile. I won't give away the ending, but as far as another sequel to this story is…I want to see where this one goes first before I even give a word on that one. So I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter to the sequel it was pretty amusing coming up with a few of the things Draco and Harry were to be doing while here. I think Dudley's still in for a few more surprises.


	2. Restless thoughts

Enjoy the next chapter if you're still sticking around. Oh random here, but someone mentioned it, I did read book 7 lol. It took two days between baby-sitting my sisters and such, but yeah I did read it, still not sure if I'll make another sequel though based on book 7. It just depends on what you guys want and how this sequel progresses.

**Warnings: **It's shonen ai people PLEASE become aware of this and don't blame me because you weren't smart enough to A. read the first story B. had enough brains to wonder why Tom and Harry were kissing.

**Notes: **this story is a **sequel**, it's part 2 of "A Wizard's Lament" Also **(X) **is time jump and or pov change

Chapter, 2: Restless thoughts

Tom punched the pillow he was using, a growl escaping his lips; his knuckles of course went into the soft material and then collided with the hard bed frame where a loud cracking noise resulted. He pulled his hand back and stared at it dumbly, his hand broken for the third time that week. Still growling he sat up and with his good hand grabbed the bottle of potion to regrow bones and drank it.

"I hate this!" He hissed, every inch of him having to work not to answer Harry. Dumbledore had made sure their bond was closed early on so Harry wouldn't become suspicious of Tom's thoughts, but his boyfriend still had the necklace and Tom himself was still quite connected to the object. It hurt him worse when he felt the anguish from his boyfriend when he didn't answer. Surely just a small amount of comfort wouldn't hurt? And then he felt it. Even with the bond shut tightly, Tom knew that his lover was alone and crying.

"How I hate this school right now," he said eyeing Madam Pomfrey's back as she had been the one tending to his wounds since he'd returned. He'd been hoping to go and seek Harry out, he hadn't realized the date when he'd staggered back into the common room and found his boyfriend gone along with everyone else and to make matters even worse, he'd found Draco's scent on Harry's bed. He was pretty sure nothing had happened between the two as Draco had shown much interest later on in Ron as the year had progressed, but that didn't make him feel any better.

Now with this turn of events though, there was no way he was going to hold himself back any longer. Harry needed to know that he was alive, Dumbledore be damned.

The snapping and popping noises finished and his hand had once again regrown itself. He stared at it a few moments nodding after he was satisfied and made his way over to the nurse. He watched her as she was talking to Professor McGonagall, but he didn't really want to disturb them. Instead he just stood there quietly and waited. When McGonagall was, finished she snickered pointing to Tom and then walked away still using her walking stick he noted. When Madam Promfrey turned around she didn't look pleased at all, rather as if she was about to jump him. He knew he was trying her patience, but he was sick of this place. As it was, his patience wasn't much better.

"Don't you have anything that will speed this up," he demanded for what seemed like the thousandth time this week. They'd been fighting constantly since Dumbledore had brought him in here, him wanting Harry and the headmaster refusing to retrieve him. He started growling without even really meaning to, but his anger was getting the best of him as he imagined Harry sitting in his room in Privet Drive sobbing alone while everyone else in the house slept as if it were nothing.

"For the last time no," she growled back at him not even flinching from his own. He'd learned early on that this woman would stand head to head with him if it meant keeping him in here or forcing potions down his throat. He'd swallowed over fifty different potions in the past two weeks, more than enough you'd think to really heal him, but it hadn't. His wounds seem to have run into his very soul making his entire recovery very slow and most often painful. The only bits of satisfaction was that Harry's godfather was nearly in the same boat and after having ran off his first day back had been confined to his bedroom for a week until his wounds were completely fixed.

"You can't expect me to be this helpless when I go to meet Harry! If I hit anything, I break it and it's usually me breaking not the object! I fractured my wrist yesterday picking up a spoon," he screamed at her. He knew it wasn't her fault, it was the ministry, Lucius and his own fault for his current state, but backing down wasn't the kind of person he was regardless of if either of them were wrong or not. At times, he was beginning to wonder if he was actually starting to enjoy these fights with the nurse since he couldn't fight with Harry, yet. There was no time to think of that now though, as his boyfriend needed him.

"Well if you'd stop sneaking around this school and running off to talk to the headmaster who could easily come here," she raged and Tom instantly felt a lot smaller than he actually was. Strangely enough half the reasons his body was taking so long to heal was that it had jumped a year in age all at once since he hadn't thought about allowing it to do it slowly as a natural growing body the year before, which he'd learned his lesson and would do from now on. He was taller and as far as he was concerned, his hair looked better as did his eyes. He had no idea where he'd get in this argument with the nurse, but he was now on a mission. He could no longer sit back and wait for things to just happen.

"And who am I supposed to talk to then? The wall? At least send Hagrid up here," he whined not believing the words had just left his mouth. Of all the people, he could have asked for he never thought he'd hear himself asking to see Hagrid, but things had changed though and so had he and it now seemed as good as time as any to let the games keeper become aware that he was still alive while at the same time trick someone into helping him for a while.

"Fine, if you promise not to leave your bed again less it be for bathroom reasons I'll send for Hagrid," she huffed her hands on her hips. He was tempted to say something until he noticed the hint of a smile tugging at her lips and he sighed nodding.

"Alright, fine. I seem to be giving in to everyone these days. I'll stay in bed, but only if you send in the big oaf," he muttered walking slowly back to his bed, but he stopped. "And only if he agrees to bring some books out of the library to me," he added with a scowl.

"Actually, Professor Dumbledore left this here this morning, said you might like to get a head start." She walked over setting down an odd black leather bound book titled "So you've decided to move on in magic." He stared down at it, he knew it wasn't a book on the new semesters list, but figured he'd read it anyway, anything to stop the boredom and to keep his mind off Harry while he was forced to wait for Hagrid arrived.

"Thanks…" She grinned at him then and left where he hoped she went into her office he to send an owl to Hagrid. He hoped the half giant wouldn't see it odd at his request, as Hagrid was probably the only one he could use to get his plan going. Only the staff at Hogwarts, save for Hagrid, had been aware of Tom's return the few weeks ago that it'd happen. He'd been visited by McGonagall who was in the nurse's wing anyway two days a week for follow-ups on her health check ups, but he was glad that the visits had stopped now. At first they had caused boredom, now that he was up to something, the transfiguration teacher would just ruin his plot.

He looked down at the book deciding he had nothing else better to do until Hagrid came. He opened it up and read the context page to see what chapters were in the book, but found it strange to only see chapter one, which was only twenty-nine pages. He could tell that this book was a lot thicker than twenty-nine pages though. Curious, he flipped to page thirty and stared, it was completely blank. In fact, all the pages after the first chapter were blank and he turned back to look for some set of instructions he may of missed somewhere along the way. He scanned it over and realized the only way to get to the next chapter was to read the first one, which for some reason irritated him since he was once again not in control of the situation.

'I'm beginning to understand the way Harry felt,' he mentally scolded himself.

"We're going for the neutral act," he screamed just in time to see Promfrey death glaring him. He muttered an apology and flipped over so his back was facing her and reopened the book. He wasn't sure why he was reading this thing, after all it'd have been much more use to him had he'd obtained it a few weeks ago rather than now, but that was Dumbledore for you. "Did…Dumbledore say if he was going to visit today," Tom asked loud enough to make sure the nurse could hear him. The last thing he needed was for the headmaster to walk in on his mission.

"He's here almost every night isn't he?" Her voice sounded stiff to him and he guessed that she disapproved of the headmaster coming in to see him every day before lights out. If she'd have known how sane it kept him, though she'd have let him in here more. He was so bored he'd almost attempted to visit Harry the night before, but his body wouldn't hold and he ended up back in bed with two of his ribs missing. Of course, he was stronger now.

He heard a noise from the door and jerked back over a sick cracking noise telling him he'd just won himself another gulp of skelo-grow, his neck now hanging at an odd angle. He growled taking the potion and then regardless of Dumbledore's warnings separated his spirit from his body. The solid form fell to sleep immediately without a spirit in it and he sat down on the bed watching Hagrid walk into the room. He looked out of breath, but he didn't care, the giant was going to be moving again soon.

"I know you can see me," he glared at Hagrid warningly. Hagrid looked down at him and nodded, though confusion was clearly etched on his face. "Tell her I was sleeping and that you'll come back later."

"'Kay…" He was frowning now, but walked over to Madam Promfrey and did as he was told. Tom then nodded to the doorway and walked out of it, Hagrid quickly following behind him. "Tom! Tom! What in teh world are yeh doing!" He easily caught up with the Slytherin given his height.

"Me? It's boring as hell in that place! I've been in there for three weeks, three Hagrid," he growled. "I'm going to the library in this form, since my solid one is utterly useless at the moment." The lie was truthful enough, not that he expected Hagrid to second guess him.

"Does Dumbledore know 'bout this," he asked in a worried tone.

"Of course he does." He stopped in front of the library and his shadow form took on an odd solid one as if it was pulling in the darkness from within the library to gain power. "I love this place," he muttered walking into it.

"Eh," was all Hagrid managed to say as he followed him in. After grabbing a few books, they sat down in a gloomy area, Hagrid reading some books on beasts, Tom of course a nice collection from the restricted section. "Look…I don't mean teh be well, nosy, but…why haven't yeh seen Harry? He's bin planin some really stupid stuff…" His voice trailed off when Tom glared at him.

"I well aware, but…as you can see I'm here and Sirius is back with Lupin," he said sighing. "So Dumbledore isn't giving him the time turner."

"Oh…" Hagrid sounded a bit depressed now and Tom looked up at him an evil smile crossing his face.

"You know what, Hagrid, I'll tell you what. You cover for me tonight, I want to visit Harry, even if it's just in a dream and I'll go rewrite a few things."

"Tom, what in the 'orld are yeh thinkin," he demanded his eyes narrowed.

"I was thinking it was time you got rid of that pink umbrella and happened to come across your old wand," he suggested with a shrug. "But if you don't wish to be more help to Dumbledore…"

"I do!"

"Make sure to be at the infirmary then around one a.m. Harry hasn't been going to sleep until late into the night," he explained. "Even with the odd hours he's been keeping, he should be asleep by then. Do you agree to help me?"

"Yeh just gonna see him in a dream right?" Tom nodded. "…A'right fine! But if yeh are lying teh me Tom…"

"I'm not. I honestly just want to see him and I'll get it fixed so you're allowed to use magic, all right? Your name will be cleared." Glad to finally have someone on his side, even if it was through sheer manipulation, he flipped the page in the book and tried to focus on it, but that wasn't going to happen. Now the only thing going through his mind were images of Harry and him finally getting to talk to him. He'd also get to tell his boyfriend that everything was going to be okay. Smiling he flipped the page again not even bothering to pretend to look at. Now he just had to wait.

**(X)**

Harry sat on the floor, his back against the dresser Hedwig was sitting on as he flipped through the two photo albums he had obtained, one from Hagrid, the other from Tom. He enjoyed both of them very much, Tom's allowing him to see pictures from his deepest memories, things like him being held or played with as a child, or the night Tom had taken a solid form for the first time and had pinned him to a wall. It had been such a wonderful gift, while Hagrid's gift too held a lot of emotional joy. The book he'd obtained from Hagrid had pictures of his mother, father before they'd even had Harry, things that were not hidden in his memory, and therefore he couldn't see in Tom's gift.

He sighed turning the pages of both books at once. The one in Hagrid's was of his mom and dad in front of a fountain; it looked like it was autumn. The leaves were falling down around them as his mother did a few spins beneath them, his father watching. He turned his gaze over to Tom's and noticed three different pictures on the page. One was of Ron and Draco fighting at the Gryffindor table, Hermione ignoring them. The second was of all of them studying together in the library not to far from exams, and the third. The third one was of Harry and Tom outside beneath the tree his own father had spent his time at during his stay at Hogwarts, the two of them relaxing there alone, looking quite happy.

'We're going for the neutral act!'

Harry blinked and looked up from the photos. He was pretty sure that unlike paintings, photographs could not talk. He looked around the room for some kind of source, but the only other person with him was Draco, who was currently having a war with his owl as Kane refused to stop pecking at him while he attempted to write his reply to Ron.

"You stupid bird," he growled. "If you wouldn't peck at me so much than I'd already have this letter finished!" Kane was not the type of owl to back down though and instead let out a piercing scream before attaching its beak to Draco's ear. Said boy let out a small scream, the blood trickling down his ear. He glared at the bird and pulled his wand out hitting it in the head with it. Kane gave another sharp screech, but stopped biting Draco even though it was obvious the bird wasn't giving up. Its eyes never moved far from the Slytherin, making sure its master finished the letter as soon as possible. When the letter was completed Harry watched Draco stand up and attach the letter to Kane, walk over to the window, shove it open, and nearly throw his bird out of it. "AND BITE HIM WHEN HE GETS IT," he screamed after the retreating form. "Damn bird."

Harry instantly started snickering winning a glare from Draco, but he couldn't help it. He just couldn't shake off the shock at how close the two seemed, almost like him and Hedwig.

'I guess there are still a lot of things I need to learn to accept,' he thought to himself still snickering.

"Oh hey, Draco, did you mention something about going neutral," Harry asked looking over to him. Draco gave him an odd look before shaking his head. Harry's shoulders slumped and he closed both books setting them on the nightstand. "I don't understand what's going on with me," he muttered. The past few weeks he'd been randomly hearing voices, but Tom wasn't around and Dumbledore had told him that Voldemort would never again attempt to try to take over his mind. There was a good chance he was so desperate to have his boyfriend back that he was hearing things.

"No, I haven't said a word. Well, I told Kane to stop biting me," he sighed walking back over to the bed and sitting down on it. He looked irritated and Harry realized that Draco's ear was still bleeding. He got up walking over to his trunk and started going through it. Half of the things they'd been using were on the floor everywhere, or in other words, Harry's room was a mess. They had decided they'd pack the trunk earlier of the day Dumbledore was to come instead of before hand since they needed entertainment after all.

"Okay, maybe I just misheard you," he muttered not looking at the other boy. He'd been hearing a lot of things at random lately and was pretty sure, he was on his way to going completely mad. He had a feeling that Malfoy thought the same thing to, because every time he asked Draco if he'd said something he was getting odd looks, not that he could blame the Slytherin. He decided he'd wait until after he fixed Draco's ear though to contemplate on this thought and began pulling even more objects out of his trunk muttering every now and then. "What in the hell is this," he asked staring down at something wrapped in clothe.

This seemed to have caught Draco's attention and he crawled over to the other side of the bed so he was looking down into the trunk where Harry was holding the object. Harry tried to remember where he'd picked the thing up at, and then remembered it was something Sirius had given him. He quickly unfolded the object pulling it out and looked at it. It was a small dirty looking square mirror. He stared at it before finally turning it over, which to his surprise his godfather had left him a note. 'This is a two-way mirror. I've got the other. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours. James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.'

"That's insane," Draco, muttered taking the mirror from a shocked Harry and looking it over. "Don't you think he'd of tried to contact you by now if he could," he asked looking over to Harry. Any hope Harry had, had about the mirror quickly vanished and he let out a shaky breath.

"You're right…I mean…even if he had it on him…the dead are dead right," he asked quietly. Draco nodded setting the mirror down on the bed and sat down on the floor besides Harry. Harry tried to avoid looking at him, his whole meaning to live seemed to be based on loosely made dreams and goals that he had no idea if they'd even work, however…"You know Hermione, Ron, and I saved my godfather once by using the time turner and Buckbeak," he said quietly. "So…this has to work…and…and then…" His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes. Draco put a hand on his shoulder trying to do his best to comfort him, but they both knew it was pointless. Harry wouldn't be stable again until he was back in Tom's arms, the both of them asleep in the same bed, alive, happy.

"Are you sure your mind has been closed off from Voldemort," Draco suddenly asked trying to change the subject. He seemed to be able to deal with Harry a lot easier if he was mad rather than depressed. For that reason, alone the question shouldn't have shocked Harry as much as it had, but it did. He shrugged slightly, but he looked pale now as he tried to decide whether or not his mind really was blocked off.

"I haven't been having any nightmares…and I don't think it's his voice I'm hearing…it's muffled most of the time though, so I can't be sure." Sighing he stood up and climbed onto his bed taking his glasses off before lying down on it. "I don't know what's going on anymore…maybe I am going mad. Their deaths drove me over the edge, it's the only explanation I have," he muttered. Draco walked over to the bed and sat down beside him.

"Listen Potter, if you're going mad you should warn the others before putting them in danger," he scolded at an attempt to joke with him. Harry just closed his eyes though nodding. He knew Draco was right. He didn't have the right to endanger anyone if he was going insane or had Voldemort once again trying to take over his mind. Dumbledore had made miscalculations before.

"Should I write to Ron and tell him I'm going mad then," he asked grinning at Draco. Malfoy just rolled his eyes at him. Harry shrugged and dropped his face into his pillow trying to gather his thoughts; surely, there was a reasonable explanation for the voices, like maybe a small bit of Tom had been left in the necklace or something along those lines.

"No, we'll tell him after you've got there while he's stuffing his face." The image of Ron nearly choking on his food as he told him flat out that he was losing his mind made him start laughing and he was forced to sit up to catch his breath.

"That's-" he cut himself off listening to the door open and close downstairs. Both boys looked at each other smirking. "Dudley's home, did you put the paint on his doorknob?"

"Of course."

**(X)**

He was speeding quickly across the sky, the snitch so close, all he had to do was lean forward and it'd be his, another victory for Gryffindor. He was nearing closer, closer and then suddenly he was spinning. His broom still with him he flipped forward falling off and rolled onto the ground dizzy and trying to figure out what had just happened. He stood up blinking and was shocked to see that he was back in Hogwarts, somehow far from the Quidditch stands, his broom no where to be seen. As this had happened the dream's atmosphere seemed to have shifted and Harry realized that he was no longer in a normal dream, but one like he'd been so many times last year when Voldemort was trying to get him down to the Department of Mysteries.

"I'm not falling for your tricks Voldemort," Harry hissed in the snake language. He hadn't meant to of course, but the words had seemed to come out of his mouth that way regardless and so he stepped forward his footsteps echoing all around him. This didn't shock him of course; he knew he was completely alone in this place. Somehow, Hogwarts had been completely abandoned or…He saw a window not to far from where he was at and saw the night sky and stars flickering outside. 'So everyone's in bed,' he thought to himself and started walking on. He had no idea what direction to go in or what the purpose any of this was for so rather than worry, decided he'd enjoy himself having a look around before he was forced back into the waking world.

Abandoning all thoughts of common sense, he ran down the hall until he was near the two gargoyles in front of Dumbledore's office. He didn't even bother with the password, just went through, or attempted to, go through the stone. It stopped him dead on and he glared at it looking at the two gargoyles and sighed.

"Password," they both asked when he finally took the time to look at them. He had no idea if the password was the same as it had been from last year or if Dumbledore had changed it already. He thought and thought, but without warning the spiral stairs leading up to the top of the headmaster's office started springing to life and he started running up them two at a time until he was finally at the door. Grinning like an idiot, he walked in. The room was no different from the many other times he'd walked in and he stepped forward noticing that Dumbledore was indeed in the room. To Harry's amusement he was playing with a half grown Fawkes who was randomly biting at his finger.

"Yes, you're a very good bird," the headmaster said in an amused tone. "Unlike two other baby birds I know who seem to enjoy sneaking up on others," he added. Harry got the distinct feeling that Dumbledore knew he was there somehow, but didn't move. He hadn't planned on going through his stuff; he really just wanted to see him. "Would you like to attempt to fly then?" He picked the phoenix up which fit perfectly in his cupped hands and smiled, his eyes directly on Harry. "One…Two…Three," He threw the bird up in the air, Fawkes doing its best to flap as it managed to stay airborne for at least half a minute before coming back down. Dumbledore quickly caught him though and set the bird back down in its nest. "Almost little one."

"Sorry to disturb you Professor Dumbledore," Harry muttered. He decided that he'd intruded long enough and that he'd seen Dumbledore, though he would be seeing him again in a day and a half's time. "See you on Friday," he murmured heading for the door.

"Alas, check the infirmary," the headmaster said from behind. Harry blinked turning to look back at Dumbledore, but he was already sitting at his desk looking at some paper work. Harry wasn't sure if he'd been talking to him or not, but it seemed stupid that Dumbledore would tell Fawkes to go to the infirmary.

"Thanks." He walked out of the room as quietly as he could heading down the steps. He wondered why he should be going to the infirmary, but decided it must be worthwhile enough and headed that way. He was able to see the many other things around him then, the many doors, ghosts, even Professor McGonagall who he knew should have been fast asleep at this time, but looked like she was heading to Dumbledore's office. An odd thought went through Harry's mind and he started running to the infirmary hoping to find something that would make him forget it all together.

"Bunch 'o ruddy ideas. Can't even keep him in one place." Harry looked around at the sound of the voice, spotted Hagrid standing in front of the doors, and regardless of his dreaming, hugged him. It seemed like such a long time had gone by since he'd seen Hagrid. "I have no idea where he could 'o went," he muttered. "Told me teh come by at this time and he ain't even here." Harry wondered whom he was talking to until he noticed Madam Promfrey standing a few feet from the half-giant.

"Well I didn't even see him get up and leave! Honestly the boy promised to stay in bed if I gave him a book." She sounded very distraught to Harry and he wondered who this boy could be. He walked passed them into the infirmary itself and started looking at the beds. "All I did was look at Minerva for a moment, give her a potion and sent her back on her way. By the time I looked back he was gone," she shrieked. "He sneaks out more than Mr. Potter does!"

"Yeh….Yeh that he does," Hagrid mumbled looking around the room again as if expecting to find someone. The fact that it was summer though Harry knew he wouldn't see anyone in here, not unless one of the teachers was in need of medicine.

"I swear if I had known he was going to do this I'd have tied him to the bed! I suggested it to Dumbledore you know, but no. He insisted the boy be allowed to roam if he wanted. Oh I don't even know where to start looking!"

"Yeh…knows o' lot of places teh hide that's fer sure," Hagrid agreed. His shoulders seemed to have slumped and Harry got the distinct feeling that his friend was once again behind this boy's disappearance or at least played a part in it. "Tell yeh what…I'll go get Fang, he can sniff him down."

"BRILLIANT!" Both Harry and Hagrid were taken aback at how loud Madam Promfrey had shouted, but they were both on the same lines of thinking, that this boy had pushed her pass her limits more than once. "I'll tie him to the bed or ward the place after we get him back. He can do all the walking around he needs in here!" Hagrid nodded slowly and scampered off quickly to go get his dog.

"Odd," Harry muttered more to himself than anything else. He guessed the person he was looking for was no longer in the infirmary and headed out to search the rest of the castle. After all, even if he didn't meet anyone, this was pretty fun. When else could he do this? Sure he could sneak around Hogwarts during the school year with the invisibility cloak, but somehow it seemed more interesting being able to do it without the cloak and during the summer.

**(X)**

"You seem to be causing problems for my staff, as always," Dumbledore offered as he sat the crying Fawkes down on his desk. The bird seemed to be wanting a lot of attention that night, attention the headmaster was more than willing to give of course.

"Don't give me that, where is he," Tom demanded looking around the room. He wouldn't put it pass the headmaster to have hidden Harry somewhere in his office just to spite him. "I wasn't going to tell him anything, I know he's not safe running around and begging to come back here before the term starts, I just wanted to reassure him it'd be okay…he'd never know if this was more than a dream!"

"Alas Tom, he is already quite well aware that this is more than a dream," Dumbledore sighed, but the smile didn't leave his face. "He knows he's looking for someone or something, but isn't quite sure what. And…gathering by your reaction here and not having jumped him," his smile grew at Tom's scowl, "that you are not quite healed enough yet to even sense him through your bond."

"Shut up," he growled his fist clenching. He was beyond annoyed given that his boyfriend was within the castle not far from him, but he had no idea where. "Just tell me where he is, I just want to see him for a few minutes. A couple of seconds! I just want to make him feel better, why is it so hard to get that through your head?"

"Tom, you'll be seeing him in two days. Two days compared to four weeks I'm sure you have the will power to hold yourself…"

"I don't have that kind of will power," he growled. "I want to see him and I want to see him now," he demanded.

"No patience sometimes," the headmaster sighed as he stood up. "Come along, he's in the entrance hall trying to debate if he should go into the dungeons and rouse Severus."

"He's what," Tom growled. "I can't believe him." He exited the office quickly, Dumbledore following him after he placed Fawkes back in his nest.

"Your leg seems a bit off," Dumbledore asked, Tom could just see the smile on the old fool behind him.

"Yes, I had a run in with a wall at some point," he hissed. He had in fact fractured his leg in one or two places trying to get to the headmaster's office where the half-g was supposed to be keeping Dumbledore busy, Harry at the bottom of the stairs. He should have known Dumbledore would have pulled a stunt like this and started growling even more as they made it closer to the entrance hall. "You really enjoy pissing me off don't you?"

"Quite," Dumbledore replied lightly. "You see when you're mad you tend to talk in common sense, something you lack a good deal of the time. And seeing you be able to have this common sense now when you had such very little your first time through Hogwarts…-"

"I'm killing you in your sleep tonight, you're aware of this yes?" Dumbledore only smiled though as they reached the hall just in time to see Harry going into the dungeons. Tom cursed loudly and started going after him, he could only move so fast with his leg like this though.

"Can't you heal my leg?"

"Naturally, but than you'd be able to see Harry, which you're not supposed to until you're both at the Burrow."

**(X)**

Harry was sure he'd heard a door clang shut behind him and he stopped instantly pushing himself against the wall so he couldn't be seen as easily. He waited, the footsteps were coming closer to him; they turned the corner and went on, Dumbledore and someone else with him walking to Snape's chambers or the common room maybe. He frowned more taking a step out of the shadows to watch as the two continued down the hall.

"T, Tom?" The boy that had been standing next to Dumbledore jerked around instantly and looked at Harry. A ton of emotions started to stir inside Harry. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or depressed, overjoyed or ashamed. Tom started running towards him as fast as he could, but for some odd reason he was limping, something seemed to be wrong with his leg and then CRASH.

Harry blinked looking around his room, tears streaming down his face. He turned over and saw Hedwig's cage had fallen over and he got up going over to her quickly and placing the cage back on the dresser. He wondered what had gotten into her until he noticed that Kane was once again at the window. He opened it up, took the letter, the owl this time flying off quickly, no doubt annoyed at its owner and not wanting to be near him for a while. It was addressed to both Harry and Malfoy so he figured opening it wouldn't be a big deal. He shut the window and then leaning against it and opened the letter.

"Snake, Stage, Listen. Dumbledore sent dad a letter this morning and it sounds pretty fishy. I just found it a few minutes ago before writing this. Otter thinks I'm going over board writing this, but I really think you should know. I'm not supposed to say who since the owls may be, being watched, but just be careful when you get here." The letter ended there. He looked at the nicknames they'd been using, each referring to the Patronus they could create. Feeling like he was being left out of something even though it wasn't Ron's fault he threw the letter to the side and wrenched opened his door somewhat shocked the hinges didn't come off when he did and was met face to face with Dudley who looked like he'd been about to knock. Both of them looked shocked, Dudley was the last person Harry had expected to come and check on the noise and to his horror, he was still crying.

"What…what was that…." His cousin hadn't been able to truly get over anything that could be magical, not that Harry could blame him. Draco and he had given Dudley no mercy at all and just the summer before dementors had attacked him.

"My owl's cage fell," he growled and walked passed him down the steps and into the kitchen. He started looking for a glass so he could get some water and calm himself down, maybe wash his face in the sink. Had it really been Tom standing there? Trying to get to him? If it had than it could have only been a dream, as Tom was gone. His body shuddered at the thought and he took a sip of the cold water in the glass he'd found.

"She's okay right…? I mean…you're crying and…" Harry turned on his cousin his eyes narrowed. Dudley quickly took a step back at the look on Harry's face, but he didn't run. Instead, he stood there. It seemed like he was trying to think of something to say, but was constantly failing.

"What do you care," he demanded his eyes still narrowed. "You hate Hedwig and-" He went silent seeing Draco creeping up behind him. "Don't!" Dudley of course turned around, his face now even with Draco's wand.

"Is he bothering you," he asked emotionlessly.

"No, he's just stupid. I had another one of those odd dreams," he muttered pouring the rest of the water down the drain. "I'm fine, come on." He started to walk back to the staircase Draco following, but Dudley grabbed Harry by the arm stopping him. "What," he asked glaring.

"I just…" He titled his head as if trying his best to get his brain to work before he started scowling. "You know you didn't have to throw that bird's dung at me!"

"It was puke," Harry replied simply pulling his arm away.

"We were just joking around!"

"So were we. You should see how death eaters joke if you think I have bad taste." The two wizards went up into Harry's room leaving behind an extremely confused Dudley in the kitchen.

**TBC **

Well there's the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it. It took a bit of time to figure out what I want to use and stuff. I was surprised that I managed to make this chapter 13 pages long and it didn't kill me…perhaps I can finally start writing longer chapters? That'd be nice and I'm sure everyone else wouldn't mind lol. Than again, I have a friend who writes 32 pages a chapter and every time she updates I feel like my eyes are going to fall out by the end of it. No need to worry about that though lol. I doubt I'll be hitting 32 pages a chapter mark for a very long time.


	3. Lingering moments

Okay, everyone seems to be enjoying the sequel, even though it's only now three chapters long lol. I'm just glad people are telling me they like it, because sometimes when no one reviews you start to wonder if you've done something wrong and get nervous like no one will ever read your stories again…okay anyway! Glad you guys enjoyed it now onto the normal stuff that I always throw in here.

**Warnings**: It's Shonen ai! It's a sequel. Tom and Harry are dating just like they were in the FIRST part of this fanfic. So…go read A Wizard's Lament before reading this or you may be wondering wth is going on.

Notes: Two of them. One is the usual **(X) **is time jump and or pov change.

**Question to all readers: **Eh, before I plot this fanfic out anymore…am I going to be attacked to do book 7? Please let me know so I can fit the story line accordingly.

Chapter, 3: Lingering moments

"You cannot expect to stay in here until tomorrow," Dumbledore sighed looking down at Tom.

Tom who'd refused to go back to the infirmary upon hearing the nurse's proposal of tying him to the bed. Instead he'd come back to Dumbledore's office where he'd sat down on the floor near the headmaster's desk and refused to move. Even more of a reason, he was glad that his sitting there was annoying the headmaster so much, revenge he told himself due to Dumbledore's interference with his master plan to see Harry.

"I can stay here until Tomorrow morning, which I'll then be shoved off to a red headed freak's house with no brain where he'll attempt to 'look after me' until Harry gets there, which if I would have already seen Harry would be in a much better mood had you not stopped me," he growled. He had been in an extremely bad mood since Harry had suddenly vanished from within the dungeons that morning, he'd been so close and yet he'd lost him, again. "The only good thing is…he knew who I was." He'd managed to feel a slight jump in Harry's mood with them being so close to each other in the dungeons, it was enough to satisfy him, even if only slightly. Not that, that erased his anger towards the headmaster.

"In the shadows down there I doubt he was able to get a good look at you," the headmaster mused. Tom glared at him, but he knew the old man was wrong. Harry had known, he was sure of it and he himself had gotten a nice preview of how his boyfriend had grown over the summer. Harry himself had gotten taller, but Tom had out grown him by about four inches, just enough to make him feel a bit more superior to his lover regardless of his whole 'we're equal' thoughts. After that Tom had finally taken the time to get a good look of himself in the mirror. The first thing he had noted was that his eyes had slanted slightly, not like Voldemort's, but in his own mind, in a very attractive way. He just hoped they didn't slant more than they were.

"Yeah, or it could have been a bond matter," he muttered as his thoughts remained mostly on his new form. Of course after having refused to go back to the infirmary Dumbledore had been forced to give him a different kind of potion, one that had sped things up quite a bit, at least to the point where he could now move around and if he accidentally hit something, his leg wouldn't fall off. Still, he was both delighted and concerned about how he looked at the age of sixteen. "And to think the next time he goes back to the muggles," he smirked turning to look up at the headmaster for once. "I'll be seventeen, a full fledged wizard and I can turn them all into rats." His tone was cheerful and he couldn't wait to do it. Those muggles would pay for the harm they'd caused his boyfriend, one way or another. Perhaps he wouldn't even bother with using magic, he would simply attack them himself.

"Tom, you know as well as I do the events that are to take place when Harry reaches age," Dumbledore said standing up. He stretched slightly Tom's eyes never leaving him. The headmaster returned the gaze almost questioningly. "Yes?"

"Your arm isn't burned," he muttered quietly before standing up. He felt a rush of joy go through him as nothing broke inside his body at the action and he walked over to the very shocked Dumbledore examining his right arm. "You actually listened to my warning…" The fact that Dumbledore had done so seemed odd to Tom. Of course they were on the same page with all this, Dumbledore had after all, been the only reason Tom was here, allowed to remain here and stay with Harry, but he didn't think the headmaster had trusted him so much with something like this. He wouldn't have trusted himself that was for sure. "Where did you…?"

"Ah, but if I told you I am sure that nothing, but problems would begin to surface, am I right?"

Tom nodded slowly at Dumbledore's words knowing he was right. He had no use for the object anyway, but he had wanted to at least look at it. The curse had been removed from it, it wouldn't hurt to just take a small little look would it? It was better this way though. If he had no idea where it was he would be less tempted to try and take it, less tempted to hide it or become bait to the current Voldemort who would no doubt use him to steal it and bring it back to him.

"So I get to see him tomorrow…you're not going to take him away from me," The Slytherin suddenly asked to change the subject. He didn't want Dumbledore to feel threatened in any way where the object was concerned. Harry was much more important than some useless object and he didn't need to risk fighting the older man for nothing.

"Of course not, after tomorrow he's yours for the taking," Dumbledore replied happily. It seemed odd to Tom that the headmaster and himself could be in this office talking so friendly again. So many bad things had happened between the old man and Voldemort, so many things before and after the transformation from man to snake. It was strange and the more he thought about it the more he realized just why Harry was having such a hard time coming to terms with him not being the future Voldemort. After all, in a twisted way he had killed Harry's parents, only this time he wouldn't grow up to do so. This time he'd fix things so Harry could live a happy life, so Dumbledore wouldn't have to constantly worry, even if that wouldn't rewrite the past that had already happened.

"Good. I don't know how much more I can take of this…you're still going to his surprise party right," he asked as he found his way to the phoenix's nest. He held his hand out stroking the bird's neck with his finger gently as it squawked happily. "Besides, we owe each other a lot," he stated flatly. Fawkes leaned into the touch before looking over in Tom's direction and biting down hard on his finger in affection. The boy just watched it though smiling slightly; he had indeed changed a good deal since Dumbledore had obtained him. A phoenix would never have even gotten close to him fully grown, let alone allowed him near itself while young if he'd stayed on his old path. Fwakes had barely trusted him his first time through Hogwarts, it was nice being able to be so close to something so rare.

"Yes and I'm quite looking forward to it. The Weasley's have let me in on a bit of a secret of what they're doing and another surprise, your group of five shall be holding two birthday parties, one for Draco as well, though late as it is." Tom turned around at that raising an eyebrow. He hadn't a clue as to when Draco's birthday was. It had never really crossed his mind as they'd been more focused on O.W.L.S and the evil witch who'd attempted to murder Harry then who was turning what age. "The fifth of June," Dumbledore said as if reading Tom's mind. The heir nodded turning his back to him again and focusing once more no the phoenix.

"Yeah, I guess it is a bit late. They're allowing us to go to Diagon Alley this year aren't they?" He'd decided he could get decent gifts for his two favorite people there. What he wasn't entirely sure, but Diagon would be the best place to look since he doubted Dumbledore would allow him to go anywhere near any other magical markets.

"Yes, they wish to see the Weasley twin's store," he said at once that same smile that never seemed to leave him still there.

"They have a store," Tom asked blinking. He hadn't heard a word about the twins since they'd rode out on broomsticks leaving Umbridge infuriated. "They got their joke shop in Diagon," he reasoned after a few seconds remembering one of them had mentioned a shop there. Then he remembered he had been exchanging letters with them, they had just been so unimportant he'd completely forgotten about them. They had been asking Tom about what seemed to be random charms and hexes, along with the best kind of robes to use for certain enchantments.

"Yes, that would be the one. Now as much as I find this conversation interesting and much to my delight, I'm afraid Tom that I need to finish a few preparations before going to retrieve Harry and of course, transfer you to the Burrow." Tom made a move to protest, but Dumbledore was already out the door before the words could barely reach his lips. He muttered a curse sitting down on top of Dumbledore's desk his gaze back on Fawkes.

"You have a really annoying owner, you know that," he asked not expecting an answer. A few of the portraits within the room made a few coughing noises, no doubt he'd offended them, not that he cared. Fwakes however gave a loud chirp and the Slytherin found himself smiling despite himself. "Okay, just a few more minutes though," he said walking back over to the bird and beginning to stroke its feathers again. When the baby bird was finally asleep he walked over to one of the cabinets closer to the office door and opened it. Inside was a pensive and another number of items, including a star shaped necklace that looked somewhat familiar had it also contained a moon. He picked it up closing the doors to the cabinet and proceeded to Dumbledore's desk where he set it down. Sighing he held his hand out to it his solid form vanishing as he went to his temporary retreat.

**(X)**

"Potter he's not coming until tomorrow night," Draco growled. "Will you stop having a, HEY!" Harry ignored Draco's complaints, even completely blew off the fact he'd just thrown a robe at Draco's head while he was digging through things. He was trying to figure out how to get all his stuff into his trunk nicely without having to smash anything. He tried to move a few things around, but decided it just wasn't working and flipped the entire thing over completely emptying it.

"Look, I want to be ready!" Ever since he'd gotten that second letter from Dumbledore that morning he'd been extremely anxious to get everything packed and somehow speed time up so it was the very day that Dumbledore would be coming to get them. The letter itself lay ignored on the nightstand, the only words sprawled across it were 'I'll be coming a bit earlier than planned tomorrow, some surprises are just so impatient.' He started folding his robes neatly then and shoving them into the bottom of his trunk. He continued on getting everything inside, shockingly without breaking a single thing and then snapped it shut and sat there staring at it. "Now what," he asked his energy suddenly depleted.

"That's the thing," Draco growled glaring at his would be roommate. "Now that you've packed we have nothing to do for the rest of today or tomorrow."

Harry realized this was a problem and frowned trying to think of something they could do. They'd already pulled so many pranks on Dudley that he refused to leave his bedroom unless it was for food or to use the bathroom. His Aunt Petunia, though not intended, had met an unlikely fate with the videos Harry and Draco had hidden the night Piers had been staying the night. Upon opening the door to a closet, they all fell out colliding with her head, she was okay, but quite shaken and his uncle had probably been the most fun. He'd threatened Harry to clean his room, which he had for the most part, even if that meant just cramming everything into his trunk at once and lied down. Draco had then gone on to drink the potion so when his uncle walked in, it looked as if the 'ghost' was trying to seduce Harry right before his eyes. However, it was due to all this that it was much safer to not partake in any more problem making for the time being.

"Let's see…I put the wizard chess away…the muggle money is still out," he said sheepishly wondering if they could possibly entertain themselves with what money they had left. They did need to eat after all.

"Guess we go to the store then," Draco asked. Harry shrugged; he didn't really feel like going to any kind of store, less it was when they went to buy food. He lied down on the floor staring up at his ceiling trying to figure out something they could do without actually being forced to leave the room, let alone the house. There were death eaters after both of them right now and being in the muggle world made it that much more dangerous. It wasn't like a muggle could save them or even know what to do if a death eater showed up and attacked the pair.

"Why don't we send Ron a reply to his letter," Harry asked holding back a yawn. He hadn't gotten back to sleep easily that morning after all the things that had happened. He had lied in bed holding his necklace hoping for some kind of sign that his boyfriend was indeed still alive and trying to get a hold of him. He'd waited for hours, but nothing seemed to happen at all until he'd finally fallen asleep waiting.

It was at this point that he realized he hadn't even shown Draco the letter or even told him that they'd received one. "Sorry, it's on the dresser, Kane brought it back while you were asleep," he said quickly trying to avoid Draco's glare. The Slytherin got up, headed over to the dresser and picked up the letter. Harry watched him examine it before he took the piece of parchment out of the envelope and began reading.

"What in the hell does that mean," Malfoy asked staring up from the letter. Harry himself had no idea and could only begin to guess as to what kind of a surprise may be there. The Burrow was a fully functioning house filled with a lot of witches and wizards, the surprise could be anything.

"Who knows, maybe Hermione was right and he was going over board," Harry offered. Ron did tend to do things like that at times and he wouldn't put it passed Ron for him to do it again. After all, Ron was the most well known in their group to freak out first unless there was mud and Tom involved or Hermione and tests.

"Well, if we knew, this wouldn't be so hard," Draco sighed and he walked back over to the bed lying down on it. Harry had to agree that the rest of this day and the next would no doubt be the longest and probably most boring days of their summer. He groaned slightly his foot connecting with his trunk.

"This is boring and I really don't want to leave, but what can we seriously do, besides answer the letter, maybe beg Hermione for some lesson plans." He couldn't believe he actually wanted to study, but it seemed so much better to do that rather than sit there and stare at a ceiling all day.

"We could start going over notes and rereading all your books," Draco said without even bothering to sit up. Harry shrugged even though he knew Draco couldn't see and sighed again. Would it even make a difference if he started studying right now? It was up to the O.W.L.S' results if he'd be taking the classes or not for him to move forward. If he really wanted to have studied, he should have done it months ago before even Hermione had started forcing them to.

"I guess we can attempt…I'm really not in the mood for it though," Harry admitted closing his eyes. Better to be honest than get hit with a book for lying, something he'd learned quite fast from Hermione during the exams.

"Well unless you can suggest something better," Draco growled, but Harry couldn't. Sighing he sat up and pulled open the trunk going through a few things so as not to completely disturb everything in it, but enough so he could pull the books out. He set them down on the floor and stared up at Draco after he'd shut the trunk.

"Alright, fine. Which ones do you want? You obviously don't need Potions and I don't need Defense Against the Dark Arts or Care of Magical Creatures," he murmured more to himself than anyone else. He set the books in front of him one after another looking from one to the other. He didn't think they really needed to study too much; Hermione would be making them study enough once they were back at the Burrow. He sighed again earning another dirty look from Draco and thus flinging the book towards him. "Fine what do you think huh? This is completely boring!"

"Well whose fault is that," Draco demanded getting to his feet. He looked quite annoyed that Harry was taking this out on him, not that Harry really blamed him, they were both going nut with boredom and it seemed like nothing was going to fix that. Wizard chess had gotten so pointless lately it wasn't even worth trying to pull it out of the trunk. They had read the books they had with them numerous times already. It wasn't like Harry really owned anything besides what was in his trunk either and the bed. So the two boys glared at each other, neither of them sure of what to do until Harry finally grabbed his wallet getting to his feet. "Where are you going?"

"Where else, "Harry asked glaring. "To the stupid muggle store so we can find something to entertain ourselves with." That said he headed down the stairs, Draco following close behind and out into the sun heading for the nearest shopping market.

**(X)**

"B, but you're his f, favorite teacher," Narcissa shrieked. Severus observed her for a moment giving her a swift nod. He had indeed made sure that Draco would be taken care of, not just because of Tom, but because he truly cared about the boy. There was no way he would be telling Narcissa that though, especially not in front of the rat who would without a second thought run off to tell Lucius and the dark lord that he was looking out for the supposed traitor.

"Even if I am, I assure you I've had no contact with him since the day of the feast. He came to me begging for a map of Romania," he said emotionlessly. He knew the best way to keep the Malfoys from finding their son was to keep them going in as many directions as possible. Regardless of the lie, Draco had in fact been sending him letters, four a week, telling him about the muggles and the many pranks they'd been pulling. "He assured me once there he would locate a family member, which he would then move to another location, one he did not disclose to me."

"Ro, Romania," Narcissa asked shaking. She let out a loud scream that unnerved the other two death eaters in the room causing them both to look at her as if she'd lost her mind. "That relative is a," she cut herself off looking at them wildly her face even paler than usual. "S, Severus, you must…he can't…" She was trembling now so badly the couch itself that she was sitting upon was shaking with her.

"And why must I stop him from going there," he asked in a bored tone. Narcissa looked nervously over to Pettigrew who didn't even seem to be paying attention, rather was looking at a wall, he himself shaking, no doubt from her last scream. She jerked away averting her eyes from the man looking obviously disgusted that such a creature was near her, but all the same, Snape had caught it and understood the meaning.

"Pettigrew, leave at once and fetch me some calming draught," he ordered. The rat bowed quickly and scampered out of the room at top speed leaving the two death eaters alone. He walked around the couch then and took a seat directly across from her his gaze never leaving her for a second. "What's the problem with him in Romania," he asked sounding slightly worried. He of course wasn't, as he knew Draco was safe, if he could consider it as such, with Potter and would soon be moving to the Burrow where the ministry themselves had placed a countless numbers of protection spells.

"The relatives…they're…they're…not wizards," she started sobbing hard and Snape was tempted to try and comfort her, but knew better. If Lucius or the dark lord should ever find out about such an act he'd be punished himself for showing some type of mercy to someone, even if it was a fellow death eater. Instead, he did his best to remain steeled and make it seem as though her emotional breakdown did not bother him in the least bit.

"And just what kind of relatives are they," he pressed hoping to possibly get some type of blackmail out of her. If he could do that, Draco may be that much safer when the time came. Snape knew he would end up fighting Lucius to protect Draco at all costs, however if that meant his or the other death eaters death though or just a well placed threat was now riding on this.

"They're…V, Veela's and….and…M, Muggles….par, parents wizards…, bu, but their children…they've no….ma, magic!" She let out another loud shriek as she pulled a handkerchief out from her sleeve and cried into it. It seemed obvious to the potions master that Lucius had not only been failing as a death eater, but as a husband and father given how easily, Narcissa was spilling this out to him.

"If he goes to the Veela, the dark lord will not be angered," he assured her calmly. "After all, if Draco can somehow convince them that joining our lord is a good idea, that's another race to follow him." His face turned into an evil smirk. "And imagine the damage that could be done with the Veela against the other wizards, so entranced they'd be by their magical beauty…" He let his voice trail off for dramatics.

"You must…help my son," she said as if she hadn't heard half of what he'd said. "You have to save him…please…he's my only son…the only one I have…Lucius forbid I even speak of him when he's around, but…I love my son." Snape nodded swiftly standing up, Pettigrew had just walk in, the potion clutched tightly in his hands as he jerked around nervously.

"Give it to me," Severus snapped causing the rat to jump and nearly drop the potion. He ran over to his master as quickly as he could and gave him the potion. Snape turned his back on him facing Narcissa and placed the potion into her hands gently. "You are to take this and get some rest. Be assured Draco will be cared for."

"Y, you promise," she asked dabbing a few more tears away with her silk cloth. He nodded and she smiled up at him shyly before standing up and bowing to him. "Thank you so much…I…I don't know how I'll ever repay you…but I will, I swear to it," she added before Snape could say anything to threaten her.

"I'll keep that in mind," he smirked at her, but he knew he was sending a chill down her back with it. She bowed again before leaving the room, no doubt to go cry again for her son before her worthless husband returned.

"M, master," he squeaked looking at Snape with absolute fear. The look on the smaller death eater's face gave him a surge of power and he narrowed his eyes at the servant who'd betrayed Lily and caused her death.

"Come rat," he said as coldly as he could. Pettigrew nodded quickly as they walked out the room and to the door. Snape couldn't help feeling pity for Narcissa; she after all, unlike her husband it seemed, loved her son and had no idea how to save him besides seeking his help. Something inside him felt different as he walked out into the night air and he pulled his cloak more tightly around him, his hood drawn so no one could see his face. Yes, he'd protect Draco even if the boy fancied that Weasley, but he had to wonder if it was just for Draco's and his sake anymore.

**(X)**

"What time is it," Harry asked stretching out. They'd given up on attempting to find anything worthwhile to do at the park and had ended up buying a couple of videos. After Dudley had left to go on his usual bullying patrol, the two wizards had quickly ran into his room, locked the door and started watching them.

"It's nine," Draco muttered glaring slightly at the television. Harry had attempted to explain to him how movies worked, as the wizard community had nothing like this and ended up just telling him they were tons of picture frames put near one another while the TV itself was an oddly shaped frame where they watched stories unfold. Draco of course believed this and Harry had to laugh every time he paused the movie and Draco would shoot up asking if they'd all suddenly died.

"We've been in here for a while…Dudley be back in about another hour or so." He stood up and walked around the room, the movie currently paused, so he could try and get some blood to flow back into his legs. They had, had to be careful in making sure as to not disturb anything as to let on to his cousin that they'd be in his room. This had turned out to be a lot harder than they'd expected given the amount of things that were in Dudley's room and of course, none of them put away. It was because of this that the two boys had been forced to sit in odd positions the entire time while watching the videos. "My legs hurt," Harry, sighed closing his eyes.

"Better your legs than your back," Draco countered. He'd seemed to have thought that sitting against the bed would have been a fine place to remain for three or so straight hours while watching the movies, but he had come to learn fast that the wooden frame of the bed that stopped short leaving a space between it and the mattress was no where near as good for your back as one might think, especially if you were leaning against it very hard.

"I guess…you want to watch the rest tomorrow," Harry asked looking back to the TV. They were currently watching some kind of comedy movie known as Monty Python that was beyond strange. He figured he'd take it with him to Ron's and see if Lupin could bewitch it to play or something along those lines so he could show the others.

"We could," Malfoy admitted. "They'll be okay frozen all night right?" Draco asked looking down at the discs.

"Um yeah, they'll be perfectly fine. That's where they rest at," Harry lied trying not to laugh.

Draco nodded and rubbed his eyes, then picked up the other movies they'd bought. They opened the door slowly to peek out to make sure they wouldn't get caught in the room. When they made sure no one was coming, they walked across the hall as quietly as they could. Harry shut the door behind them once they were safely in and walked over to Hedwig's cage opening it.

"Bet you want out to stretch your wings huh?" He smiled at her opening the window. The owl jumped out of the cage, gave Harry an affectionate nip on the ear before flying out. "See, that's the way you should treat your owl," he laughed turning back to look at Draco who was death glaring him as usual.

"You try being nice to a blood thirsty flying beast." They both started talking to one another then, neither sure of how to pass their boredom. The only thing saving them was that Dumbledore was coming to get them tomorrow; they'd finally be back with other wizards, other people who understood them. It was while they were on this line of topics when a thought suddenly occurred to Harry.

"Draco…who do you think is going to be our next Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Another Death Eater," he replied instantly, but the joke kind of went dead as they thought about it. Not all their bad luck with teachers could have been a coincidence and if another Death Eater were suddenly put in place, then Draco would be in big trouble, as the person would no doubt go off to tell Draco's dad.

"I think Dumbledore knows pretty much everyone that's a Death Eater…he's not going to let another one into the school…there will be trials…something to make sure we don't end up with another bad teacher," he muttered. Even as the words left his mouth though he couldn't have been so sure, after all, none of their defense teachers really seemed to have been safe, let alone sane, besides Lupin that is. "Maybe he'll try and get Lupin back in…"

"I doubt it, my father pretty much ruined that and the werewolves are picking up a very bad reputation lately, because of this pack leader," he explained. Harry muttered an 'oh' at that and lied onto the floor as he had done so many other times that day alone. He let out another sigh, the boredom was just getting to be too much.

"We never did write that letter to Ron," Harry suddenly said looking over to the other boy. "We could do that and attempt to go to bed or something…" Draco didn't say a word, but he got up and started going through Harry's trunk pulling out some parchment, ink and two quills. The two of them both set to work in writing what seemed to be a novel length letter once they were finished. Every time one of them would say it was almost done, the other would say they'd forgotten something, anything it seemed so they wouldn't fall back into their states of boredom. By the time, they both finally agreed they shouldn't add anymore, Harry had to wonder if Hedwig would be able to deliver the letter. It was longer than he or Draco was and it felt like it was at least a pound or so when he held it up. "Now to find Hedwig…" A few moments passed and Harry caught sight of her flying around. He held his hand out to get her attention, which upon doing so she flew back into the room looking at him oddly.

"I think she's going to kill you," Draco said a bit too happily for Harry's liking.

"More like you." He turned back to the snowy owl. "Listen Hedwig, I want you to deliver this to Ron, just make sure he actually gets it. No one should be able to really get anything out of this besides two friends talking, but just be careful," he told her. She looked rather annoyed that her hunting was cut short for this, but took the parchment anyway and flew out. "Well…that's that," Harry muttered sliding back to the floor. "We're out of things to do, again and it's only nine thirty."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to start studying," Draco scowled grabbing the nearest book which was Herbology. Harry guessed he didn't have much of a choice either in this area and grabbed a book himself, potions of course. He opened it up and started reading it, surprised the things Tom had taught him, he still remembered and once again, he was thrown into a fit of boredom.

**(X)**

"Everything is taken care of then," Dumbledore, asked leaning back slightly in his chair, his trademark smile on his face. He was talking to Snape who he'd arranged to take Tom to the Burrow tomorrow morning. He trusted Snape a great deal; still, he wanted to make sure things were going according to plan as Tom had a habit of destroying them. He also didn't want the potion's master to get drawn into one of Tom's traps somewhere along the way, as the boy was often fond of causing such mischief, if only for is own amusement.

"Yes, though I do have some interesting information," Snape said in his usual emotionless tone as he took a seat in front of Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked at him curiously; the potions master did not usually hand over information to him so easily.

"And this would be," he asked tilting his head slightly. There was a small flash from beside them and suddenly Tom was standing there, glaring.

"Trying to leave me out of the conversation," he asked scowling. The two men looked at him, the headmaster had forgotten that Tom had been using the necklace as a temporary resting place, since Harry had the original one. The boy glared at them when they didn't answer and started pacing. "I am part of all this you know."

"Draco seems to have relatives in Romania, Veelas and Muggles," Snape began to explain completely ignoring Tom. The Slytherin suddenly seemed very interested in their conversation and made his way back over to them to listen. "And, it would also seem that Lucius has abandoned all hope for having Draco become a Death Eater, rather he's sent out a reward for his death."

"I see," Dumbledore, said quietly, Tom looking outraged beside him. The headmaster thought trying to decide the best course of action. Surely, there was something to be done to keep the boy safe and far from Lucius' grip where he'd surely meet a most painful end. Also, Draco would need protection then while remaining at Hogwarts until his graduation. That would mean there was much more to be done then he had first originally thought.

"However, his mother…" Severus started a small smile tugging at his lips. "His mother has begged me to find Draco and keep him safe…surely there is a way to keep Lucius away from his son, while his mother may be able to see him," the potions master asked.

"You seem suddenly merciful today, Severus," Dumbledore smiled, but the knowledge that Narcissa wanted her son safe and far away from her husband was good news. With that wanting alone, not only could Draco attend Hogwarts safely, he could do all that was in his power to keep Lucius away from the school and any person wanting to do away with the boy. "I have an idea that seems simple enough, that will allow Draco to remain here."

"Like we'd really let anyone touch Draco," Tom cut in. "He's my closet friend, I'm not letting any disgusting servants of a supposed snake lay a finger on him or Harry or anyone else in this crazy group I've become part of," he hissed.

"Calm down Tom. In fact you should be resting," the headmaster held out a small vial. "I believe this is the potion you wanted to help speed up a bit of those body preparations?" Tom's hand shot out and he instantly took it away from the snickering headmaster. He opened the bottle, sniffed it, looked at Snape who nodded and drank the entire thing in one gulp. "That will make you tired," Dumbledore pointed out then. Tom glared at him, but said nothing and went back into the necklace without any more fights. "So," he asked turning back to his spy. "Do you think you can handle him tomorrow morning?" He had to do his best to not laugh.

"I believe if he does not wish to have any broken limbs he will be at the very least, manageable." The two of them both started snickering.

**TBC**

Not quite as long as the last chapter, but it got things done. They finally make it back to the burrow in the next chapter! In other words, finally, something worth reading lol. So I'm going to go post this and stuff so I can start on chapter 4...and everyone can be happy then. Random note, the Simpson's movie was pretty good.


	4. The Events

Thanks everyone, I'm glad people are being supportive of the sequel so much.

**Warnings: **It's shonen ai, it's not gonna change. Sure, there's a few male/female pairings in here, Hermione's dating krum after all, but even so, the main pairing is gay. Get over it by now.

**Notes: **This is a sequel. **(X) **is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 4: The Events

"All of your personal possessions have already been sent to the Burrow, are you ready then," Snape asked.

Tom looked up from Dumbledore's desk and nodded, he didn't own many things anyway, so it wasn't like he had a great deal to take. On top of that, there was no point in him dragging everything he did own with, he'd be returning the school in a few weeks.

The only thing that truly mattered to the Slytherin at the moment was that, that very night he'd be holding Harry tightly in his arms, telling him everything was going to be okay, assuring him that their futures would, without a doubt be together with one another. Never again was he going to leave Harry, even if Voldemort trapped him again, even if Dumbledore threatened to send him back to the orphanage when he was younger with a time turner.

He sighed closing his eyes for a moment steadying himself and nodded again. He was as ready as he was going to be.

"I'm ready," he finally said. Snape gave a swift nod and they headed towards the office door. They made their way down the many steps eventually making it into the entrance hall where they nearly ran directly into Hagrid who was standing there. The half giant seemed to be waiting for someone or something judging by the way he kept looking around the entrance hall in an almost nervous manner. "What are you doing here," Tom asked curiously and Hagrid turned to look at them.

"Tom! Bin lookin for yeh! Just wanted to thank yeh…for…yeh know." He shifted nervously looking at Snape then back to Tom. Tom knew how happy he had to be, after all, any thoughts of not directly going to rewrite the small mistake had been dislodged from his head the moment Harry had vanished before his eyes, before he could even touch him. 'Dumbledore's punishment,' he kept repeating in his mind as he saw the fixed wand in Hagrid's pocket. Of course, he'd been forced to do some other things so the majority of the future would not be changed, but a few simple things here and there and the heir had managed.

"Well you're welcome, you deserved it, believe me," he smirked. Snape looked at the both of them, no doubt trying to discern what had just happened, but Tom said his goodbye to Hagrid who sniffed and started heading to the door before a thought occurred to him and he stopped. "Hagrid, Harry's having a surprise party on the day of his birthday; you should come with Dumbledore and Snape."

Hagrid nodded quickly and waved at the student and potions master walking out the door, no doubt toward his hut.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see that and…I hope you don't mind, I'd like to take a side trip, "Snape said somewhat quietly. Tom turned taking the potion's master in trying to figure out what it was the teacher was up to. When he couldn't figure it out, he decided he'd have to ask, but before he could even form the question Snape started talking again. "I want to go to Diagon Alley…get a proper gift for Draco's birthday," he said.

"That works…I need to get the both of them something too…though I have no idea what," he admitted with a nervous cough. As he tried to think harder on what kind of gift to give Harry or Draco, the more confused he became. He really had no idea what the two of them would like as a gift, what would be considered decent as a birthday gift for a lover. He growled slightly in frustration then until Snape dropped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Perhaps we can find things they'd enjoy once we arrive there," he question and Tom nodded.

If worse came to shove, he'd just drag the two boys with him while they were out to pick out their own gifts. The idea sounded a bit disappointing to him, but he honestly didn't know what else he could do if something didn't pop out. As he thought about this they made their way to Hogmeade where upon setting foot into it the two of them apparated appearing at the entrance of Diagon Alley.

"…That fool of mine learns that this year doesn't he," Tom asked going slightly pale. The thought of Harry being able to apparate sent shivers down his back, as he did not want the boy to be able to just vanish from him at any given moment, not ever again.

Severus seemed to pick up on this and smiled slightly at the boy, hardly noticeable to anyone who wasn't aware of such a minor difference in the professor's expression.

"Yes, but think of how much easier he'll be able to get away from the dark lord then." Thinking about it in this new light Tom didn't seem to hate the idea as much, but close enough. Any way that Harry could get away from Tom that much faster and the heir having that much of a harder time locating Harry was nerve wrecking to him. "And Dumbledore won't be able to keep you both separated, besides. He can't apparate inside Hogwarts, save for when they're practicing."

"You're right," Tom replied happily. He felt like a sudden lead block had been removed from his chest until he actually realized where they were going and saw the huge white walls of Gringotts. He looked nervously over at some of the goblins and suddenly he was walking closer to Snape.

"You have a key I take it," Snape asked his face looking smug, no doubt at Tom's reaction to the building and the creatures. Tom glared up at him, but nodded. He did indeed have a key to Gringotts, one he'd obtained from Dumbledore, one that had, had money transferred into it from Dumbledore's own account. He wasn't sure why Dumbledore had gone out of his way to give him money, but Tom wasn't complaining. He now how a good deal of money stashed away that only Dumbledore and he could get to and he could spend it on important things, like his school supplies, Harry…probably more on Harry. "Tom?" Said boy blinked looking up and then down at the goblin standing in front of him.

"Sorry," he muttered handing the key to him. The goblin muttered something about this being quite odd before escorting them to a buggy that'd soon be taking them through thousands of feet beneath the earth, both of their vaults being far in the back since Snape was a Hogwarts professor and Tom's account had been made by Dumbledore.

"And here we are, Mr. Keaira," The goblin said his eyes narrowing with a nasty smirk. Tom's shock having worn off glared right back, the goblin quickly backing away from him after he'd opened the vault. He walked in and nearly lost his breath at the objects that'd been placed inside. Dumbledore had bought his supply list the year before, so he hadn't needed to come to the vault then, but for the first time in his life, he had money, lots of money and objects he didn't even know still existed.

"I can't believe this, he put so much stuff in here," Tom said in an awed tone. He was going to have to thank Dumbledore once he saw him, not that he wanted to, and started quickly going through some of the things. Not only had he obtained a good vast amount of gold, but also a ton of random magical items, cloaks, robes, and other thing that he knew he would end spending weeks poking at the first chance he had. Dumbledore had even given him an original robe that had belonged to Salazar Slytherin. He marveled over it, obviously his love for Hogwarts' objects hadn't faded a bit and he ended up hugging it.

"To make sure you leave other things alone," Snape explained when Tom had finally set the robe back down as gently as he could in a corner. It wasn't magical, but it had still belonged to his ancestor and it was not only beautiful, but it great shape.

Tom looked over to him then and back at the other many objects that filled it. That made a great deal of sense to the heir. Giving him all these items to play with, why would he even bother to go after other items? Surely a few of these creations held some secret and powerful magic, he would just have to put the effort into figuring out which ones. The heir now knew what he'd be doing over his next summer, he would probably even have Harry come in and join him, perhaps the others as well, Hermione would definitely have to come while they tried to figure out the properties of each.

"How did he obtain Salazar's objects? Did Dumbledore inherited these items, because he was headmaster," Tom asked glaring slightly. He thought he deserved all of Salazar's personal objects, as he was the heir of Slytherin after all, but as he ran it over in his mind a few more minutes, he decided that Hogwarts had been the best place for a lot of these things. Things did tend to be safer at the school than locked away in vaults. "I guess it doesn't matter…he actually gave them to me in the end," he said quietly. "Why now? If he had before…" His voice trailed off.

"What would you have done? You'd of used these objects against him and no doubt destroyed a good deal more than you already had," Snape reminded him.

Tom nodded dully, but he knew he'd never use these objects for dark purposes. These were his things, proof that he had a family, a bloodline connecting him to other wizards, something he never really had known, but he knew had been there. He filled a bag full of some money and then took a few of the magical items that had been placed in there. The first one was a old black book that hissed every time he touched it, a orange gemed dagger with a feather for a blade, and a couple of gold band rings.

He wanted to take more, but he knew it would take him long enough to figure out what these objects alone were while trying to balance his classes. These would be enough he assured himself and placed the bag full of money and items into his pocket.

"They are mine," he muttered to the potion's master. He wondered if Snape would tell Dumbledore what he had removed, but it shouldn't matter. The headmaster would not be dumb enough to put dangerous things in his vault knowing full well that he would play with them at one point or another. Let Snape try and get him in trouble.

Snape however said nothing, merely gave a curt nod and they climbed back into the buggy. Tom followed him and the goblin stood there for a moment seeming unsure if he really wanted to get back in with the two or not. In the end he had no choice and sure enough, the thing was forced to clamber back in and they were off rushing towards Snape's vault.

**(X)**

In no time at all they were walking back out into the glaring sunlight from the dimly lit Gringotts. Now that they had their money they would need to actually start the daunting task of purchasing the gifts for their favorite people.

The first shop they decided on was the Apothecary where Snape spent most of his time buying extremely rare and odd potion ingredients for himself before finally motioning to a small doorway covered with shredded hanging cloth. They ended up then in a small area within the shop containing tons of potion items, some Tom hadn't ever seen before. A second did not pass when they had entered this restricted section when a very tall wizard with a menacing look in dark blue robes stepped in front of them.

"Show your…Oh Professor Snape, my apologies. Welcome back," the wizard said in a baritone voice. Snape nodded to him and dragged Tom along as he began to look around. To say that this shop was merely impressive would be an understatement. Though Tom had never heard of this part of the store let alone seen it, he was amazed at all the things that were kept there. It seemed to Tom that there must be another back room, a butcher shop he was sure, for all the body parts he was finding from different animals in the jars on the shelves. They seemed to have everything, even Medusa hair and eyes, some of the rarest ingredients Tom had ever heard of.

"Over here," Snape directed him and Tom soon found himself in an isle filled with even more different ingredients and objects in jars. He actually gave up on trying to recognize each one and remembering what they were, there was just too many. "I'm not sure if I should get him the dragon's blood or just get it over with and go buy him that blasted complete potions set." He really looked confused to Tom.

"For Draco," Tom guessed knowing very well that Harry would not benefit from anything within the shop. Severus nodded his face having gained a bit more color as he did making Tom smirk in reply. "He'll be so happy I'm sure."

"Silence," Snape snapped angrily.

"Well…what's the difference…and what's so great about this dragon's blood anyway?" He felt completely out of place in this shop as suddenly he wasn't the smartest peron in the wizarding world; he was a student, somewhere along the line he seemed to have missed about twenty books that would explain to him all the things that were held in the store and what they did. That thought alone infuriated him.

"The complete potion set will allow him to move on and do even more advance potions than what will ever be taught at Hogwarts…where as this dragon's blood can make a potion that will stop death or even call forth a dragon to help protect him…"

"We could do both," Tom offered tilting his head and taking the large vial of dragon's blood off the shelf. "One of us gets him the dragon's blood for protection the other goes and gets the potion set. He'll need the potion set I'm guessing anyway in order to do those potions you're speaking of…am I right?" Snape's face went even redder than it had before and he nodded. "Alright…so we work together, get him both and then pray Harry doesn't blow it up." He started heading for the counter, Severus catching up with him soon enough holding the piece of paper to give to the teller.

"A potion's set huh," the man asked. "Advanced," the wizard, asked eyeing the piece of paper.

"The highest level you have," Snape corrected fixing the man with a cold glare. The teller seemed as cold as Snape or was completely used to the potion's master attitude and merely nodded heading into a back room. Waiting, Tom set the vial onto the counter to try to finish taking in some of the shop before he would be forced to leave. He knew he wouldn't be coming back in any time soon.

"I've never seen part of the shop before…is it hidden?"

"Quite, only certain potion makers that have passed qualifying test may enter here," he replied proudly. Tom turned to look at him smirking slightly. Of course, Snape was one of the best potion masters around, but he had to wonder what he'd do when Draco was at the same level as him or even surpassed him.

"One level S advance potions set," The man said setting a box down on the counter. "Contains everything needed, including most ingredients to make some of the most rarest potions around, a guide book on how to keep your potion set clean and safe as well as all the recipes for what they can try with the given items. That'll be 96 Galleons and 16 sickles." Snape stared at him, but pulled the money out of his robe handing it to the wizard.

"Heh spending so much on him, he'll adore you even more," Tom smirked shoving the dragon blood vial towards the teller.

"69 Galleons." Tom paled the smirk leaving his face and going onto Snape's.

"You were saying?"

"Shut up," he growled paying the man the money. "At this rate I'll have to go back down to Gringotts," he muttered as they walked out of the shop. Snape took both objects and sent them back to his dungeon with his wand so they wouldn't be forced to lug the stuff around then as they searched for Harry's gift. "I wonder what I should get him…they don't make high kits like that for Defense Against the Dark Arts…and buying him fifty books just doesn't sound right…" He sighed looking from the bookstore to the defense store to the many other ones. "He's going to hate me regardless of what I get him."

"What you see in that boy," Snape started, but he stopped seeing the desperate look on Tom's face. He sighed and pointed to an odd shop that the heir had once again missed somehow during all his times in Diagon. "There," Snape instructed ushering the boy towards it. It was an old and dusty shop, barely any lightning at all between its location between two giant stores and lack of candles inside of it, and yet there was an odd welcoming feeling to it. "This shop is usually used for older wizards or witches when they wish to get their loved ones something special…"

"Been in here yourself huh," Tom asked quietly. The glare he received from Snape told him he was right and he started walking around trying his best to make no noise at all. There were many odd objects in this store that he didn't know about either, along with the muggles stuffed animals, flowers, and other assorted candy that seemed much more expensive than the normal chocolate frogs. "I don't really see him as enjoying something like this," Tom admitted until his eyes fell onto a box of live roses in the back. The sign under it simply said "charmed roses" and he walked over to them trying to figure out just how they were charmed.

"They last forever," Snape explained from behind him. "They don't die or dry up, they remain alive and keep their scent till the relationship dies." The only thing going through Tom's head was the lesson from potions and herbology he'd given Harry and about what the rose symbolized.

"I think I'll be getting this," he muttered taking one of the red ones out. He liked the way it looked, because the stem was green for his house, red for Harry's and the mythology behind it was perfect. Without a word, he walked over to the witch behind the counter and purchased it, Snape and him then leaving after he had. "Okay…I got a really nice rose to throw at him…but something I think he'd really like…" His attention turned to the Quidditch store that he'd really wanted to avoid, knowing he'd be dragged there during their school supply run. Sadly he knew he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to please his boyfriend.

"We're going in there," Snape asked sounding nearly as disgusted as Tom did.

"Sadly." The two of them walked over to that shop then and inside, Tom slipping the rose into his robe to keep it safe from the other Qudditch freaks that were currently inside looking around. "Now he has a new broom so he doesn't need that…but they have other broom stuff in here…harnesses to attach things to your broom and stuff," he muttered walking into the nearest isle.

"Don't leave me over here," Snape said a scowl on his face and following after his student as quickly as possible. Both of them couldn't have stood out more in this shop and everyone kept looking at them oddly as Tom muttered one thing after another about having no idea what to get Harry or what half the Quidditch things were. In the end, he'd been forced to locate the owner and beg him to help pick out a gift for a seeker.

"Alright, alright," the owner laughed following the two back over to the Quidditch gaming equipment. "Now, does he have a good set of gloves? How about goggles?"

"I don't know," Tom growled. "I don't look at his Quidditch equipment, I just watch him fly around and chase a stupid ball when he should be studying." Regardless of the store owner's laughter, this was not the best of answers. Many of the people inside the shop began looking over at the two wizards' death glaring them, especially Tom, who'd just proclaimed his hatred for the game.

"Alright, well are his robes ripped? I know you must have at least seen what those were like." Tom just stared at him. Twenty minutes later Snape and the Slytherin student walked out of the shop, Tom carrying the book "The best Quidditch strategies and how to bludger your opponents" under his arm.

"So Quidditch wasn't the way to go," Tom snapped when they were finally away from the shop. "Draco's easy, he's normal," he added looking at a number of different shops as they passed them by. "What can I possibly get Harry?" Tom had thought he'd known his boyfriend well enough to make getting a gift for him easy, at least, that's what he had thought months before Harry's birthday had arrived. "You've known him longer than I have," the heir admitted looking at the potion's master.

"Hmph, how about something for Potter to sneak around more? He seems quite happy doing so every year."

"I think he's got everything he needs for that. Is there some kind of secret shop for Defense stuff? Things he could use or study?"

"Perhaps," Snape said slowly. "There is something that might be something he would like."

"Perhaps?" Tom echoed narrowing his eyes. He'd never been thrown into such a state of confusion as he was now. Someone he thought he'd known so perfectly well, the lover he had spent days with reading his mind and yet he couldn't think of a single thing to get him.

"Let us see if a certain store is still open," Snape said a smile crossing his lips. He began walking down the road, Tom noticed somewhat close to Knockturn Alley, but followed anyway. Nothing said he had to buy what Snape had in mind, but it wouldn't hurt to look at it

To Tom's relief they did not end up in Knockturn, but close, and entered a small store, even by Diagon's standards. Inside was a short wizard with green hair staring at them from behind a counter. He looked annoyed with having been bothered, but Tom thought he should be grateful since no one else seemed to be there.

"What do you want?" The little wizard snapped. "No business for commoners," he spat and looked back down at his book.

"Commoners?" Tom asked his eyes flashing. He had never been called a commoner before, not even when he was back at the orphanage. His blood beginning to boil, Tom walked towards the wizard ready to pull his wand out. "You dare to group me with the other mud that walks through this town?" he demanded of the man.

"You expect me to believe you're anything else with those robes you're wearing?" The little wizard dared to ask back.

Tom's wand was out in a second, the only thing stopping him, Snape's hand grabbing his wrist.

"I doubt you would be calling a Hogwart's Professor mud," Snape said smoothly. The little wizard actually just snorted though and put his book down finally giving the two wizards a look.

"That school will hire anyone," he snapped at them. "I have no intentions of selling anything to you, why should I?"

"Because doing so will make sure this wondrous shop doesn't suddenly go out of business," Snape explained. "One letter to Dumbledore and this shop will be destroyed."

"If you think I'm scared of that headmas-"

"You're a death eater aren't you?" Tom asked flatly getting shocked looks from both Snape and the little wizard. "You're putting up such a fight, you must serve Voldemort." Upon hearing the name though the little wizard let out a high squeak and dodged underneath his counter. Tom had to do a double take before the action actually registered in his eyes. He looked to Snape who was shaking his head, but looking quite amused and then back to the counter. "So, you're not a death eater?"

"Who goes around accusing people of being death eaters!?" The wizard screamed from beneath the counter. "Be gone with you! I will not sell my crafts to such, such indecent people!"

"He's calling us indecent?" Tom asked, his eyes still on the counter. "Is there really anything in this place that's actually worth dealing with this mudblood?" Tom asked coldly. "I don't even see any merchandise anywhere. Maybe he just lives here."

"My merchandise is the best around!" The little wizard huffed, his eyes suddenly showing from behind the counter now that he was standing. Tom noticed the man had been sitting on a tall stool in order to see the whole store before he'd dived under the counter. "No one can top my goods! Best in the business!"

"And what exactly is your business?" Tom asked folding his arms across his chest. As annoying as this man was, he was finding himself amused at this whole thing.

"Charms," the man said as if it should be obvious. "I make and charm any and everything anyone could ever need," he said proudly. "I usually do paintings though," he admitted. "But I can do many things," the wizard admitted.

"A blanket," Tom said suddenly getting strange looks from both of the older wizards. "A Quidditch blanket that adjusts to a person's body temperature to warm up when it's cold and cool down when the person is hot," he continued very happy with himself. "And it should be heavy enough to feel like someone is hugging him."

"I can do that," the little wizard grinned. "It's going to cost you though and it's going to take about an hour to complete. I have to get the blanket and charm it."

"Half an hour," Tom corrected him. Without another word he stepped out of the store, Snape following close behind. "Thanks," Tom said once they were out of the shop. "I don't think that'd of gone too well if you hadn't been there."

"Perhaps it would do you well to learn some patients," Severus asked in his usual cold tone. Tom just blew him off though; he could already see another smile forming on the potion master's lips.

"You're really losing your whole emotionless touch," the heir told him bluntly. They started bickering then, Snape leading him down the street to find something to eat. It had turned out to be a good morning after all.

**(X)**

The day had dragged on and Harry had been tempted to throw himself out the window a few times before the clock finally struck ten. He was so happy he nearly screamed and when Draco walked into the room back from the bathroom, he jumped him throwing his arms around the teen so tightly he nearly choked him.

"He'll be here soon! We'll get the time turner and we'll get to be able to see Ron and Hermione…and Tom," he added sighing happily. Draco shoved him off, though not down and started grinning at him; they were both in very good moods. Harry shoved the trunk near the doorway so he could tug it down the steps the minute Dumbledore arrived, but the last thing he had expected was the doorbell to ring. Both wizards looked at each other and ran out of the room, the two of them getting stuck and being forced to tug until they stumbled out together onto the floor in front of Harry's room.

"Good evening. You must be Mr. Dursley. I daresay Harry and Draco have told you I would be coming for them?" The two boys looked at each other frowning deeply and got to their feet quickly trying to get down the steps. This to proved a chore since both were trying to make it down at the same time. "Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, they did not warn you that I was coming. Let us just pretend though that you have invited me warmly into your house." Dumbledore didn't sound angry to the relief of both boys and when the two of them came crashing down the steps landing on top of one another on the floor the headmaster started laughing. "Having fun are we?"

"A bit," Harry grinned oddly trying to sit up. Given the way Draco was on top of him though he failed and his head ended up connecting with the ground once more. "Gah, get off Draco."

"I'm trying," he growled. Dumbledore smiled turning to uncle Vernon then and closed the door behind himself. The two boys had at that point managed to untangle themselves to Harry's relief and he could start breathing again.

"Well, the two of you look quite healthy," he said happily. "However, I'm afraid we'll be forced to trespass upon your aunt and uncle's hospitality a little longer, while I explain a few things," he said just as Harry's aunt came out of the kitchen. The second she did, it looked as though she completely regretted it and attempted to go back into the other room. "Please, Petunia, you know who I am and I'd much rather get this over with sooner than later." She stopped halfway through the door as if she'd been hit with a body bind spell. Finally, after realizing Dumbledore was not going to just go away she took off her gloves that she'd been wearing to clean dishes with and walked into the living room.

Harry and Draco followed after the headmaster quickly, uncle Vernon close behind. When Dudley saw Dumbledore walk into the room he let out a small scream then stopped when his parents came in after the other two wizards and took seats beside him on the couch. The headmaster took the seat closet to the fire, Harry and Draco taking the ones across from Dumbledore, to the left of the Dursleys couch.

"We are going to be leaving, right," Harry asked nervously.

"Yes, yes, however, there are a few things I wish to talk about here rather than outside where anyone could be listening." He looked from the Dursleys to Harry and Malfoy before nodding. "Well then, let us begin. Harry-" There was a loud cracking noise outside and everyone in the room, but Dumbledore turned to try and find the source of the noise, but none came. "I had come to tell you that we had found Sirius' will a week before and that he'd left you everything he owned including his house."

"He was left a house," Uncle Vernon asked, but they had all ignored him as the Dursleys' front door had opened.

"Alas, something has gone horribly wrong and instead of bringing you the house, I brought you your godfather," the headmaster said with a smile.

Harry jerked his head around just in time to see Sirius walk into the living room grinning like an idiot at him. A second didn't even roll by, Harry had jumped off the chair and taken a running start to tackle his godfather onto the floor. Harry hugged him so tightly there was an odd cracking noise and he instantly let go fearing he'd broken Sirius' wand.

"What was that," Harry asked in horror when he noticed Sirius' arm. It was now hanging limply at the wizard's side. Sirius just grinned, pulled out a small potion bottle and drinking from it before putting it back in his robes. The arm made the same noise it had when Harry had snapped it and it was back to normal.

"Nothing, nothing that can't be fixed," Sirius attempted to assure Harry hugging him back, his arm somehow working fine again. "Oh it's great to see you Harry, I've been going mad not being able to leave my bed for the past week, but it was worth it! Got to come with to pick you up," he laughed. Harry didn't know if he should cry or what, but he remained in his godfather's embrace his eyes now closed, relaxed. It was like he'd gotten his father back and even better, one less person to save with the time turner and not have to worry about altering the future with.

"How did you survive? I saw all that blood…your body wasn't moving and when I snapped out of that trance…." His grip tightened and Sirius started laughing more. One of the Dursleys made an odd noise, but didn't say a word, they obviously didn't approve of this man in their house, let alone showing Harry more affection than one should show a bug.

"Well, to be honest I have no idea. I could have swore I was a goner to, but-"

"Now Sirius, you may tell him later, after we've left," Dumbledore smiled his eyes twinkling. "I'm guessing that this is good enough rather than all his possessions?"

"Quite," Harry replied instantly. Dumbledore's smile grew and he nodded turning back to the Dursleys. "Now then, as of next year Harry comes of age-"

"No," Aunt Petunia said quickly drawing everyone's attention to her.

"What," Sirius asked suddenly as if the woman had just screamed a death threat out. He didn't seem to like the Dursley even if theyhad been Harry's foster parents for all the past years. Harry didn't either, but the last thing he wanted was for his godfather to go mad and attack the Dursleys and end up back in Azkaban.

"He, he'll only be…seventeen…he's only-" Petunia stuttered.

"Wizards are of age at seventeen," Sirius growled.

"Calm down, Sirius, she isn't aware of our costumes," Dumbledore said politely waving his hand towards Harry's godfather. Sirius made a 'humph' noise, but remained quiet. "Now you are already aware that a most dark wizard named Lord Voldemort," Draco made an odd noise and cringed when Dumbledore said it, making all three Dursleys jump. Harry had the feeling Draco had done that on purpose to scare the Dursleys even more, because Harry had never known him to react to the name as most wizard's and witch's did. "Now, he has come back to this country and our community is now in an open state of warfare."

"And that wizard has it out for Harry," Sirius snapped. "Not that he's going to get him," he said when Harry looked at his godfather like he was a stranger.

It wasn't so much for Sirius' words though that had Harry worried, it was the amount of energy the man seemed to have gathered. It was almost like dealing with a overly arrogant thirteen year old.

"Yes," Dumbledore snickered slightly. "Harry is in grave danger, especially when he turns the age of seventeen, even more so than when I had left him on your doorstep with a letter explaining his parents' death and my wish that you'd care for him as your own."

"Which you didn't," Sirius stated flatly his eyes narrowed. The Dursleys all moved over closer to Draco's chair, who disgusted at their reactions got up and sat down next to Harry and Sirius on the floor.

"Yes, you did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son, nor has he known nothing, but neglect and often cruelty at your own hands," Dumbledore said calmly, but Harry could feel the anger coming from him.

"I'm not sure what's worse, but I think it's nice he avoided turning out like that thing sitting between them," Sirius added.

Harry looked over at his cousin then and suddenly was glad he hadn't been raised as Dudley had. He had never looked at his situation that way, but now that it'd been pointed out by his godfather, it was in a way a blessing. He wasn't sure how he would have survived anywhere if he'd been a larger version of Malfoy, not doubt he'd have ended up in Slytherin and on a diet for the rest of his life.

"Yes, I quite agree Sirius. However, the spell I cast fifteen years ago to keep Harry safe is only in effect as long as he can call this place his home. However, once he turns seventeen the spell ends. I only request that you allow Harry to return, once more, to this house, before his seventeenth birthday, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time."

The Dursleys remained silent then, none of them quite sure as how to reply to this. They shifted uncomfortably, Sirius' glare never leaving their forms less it was to look at his godson. After some time had passed and none of them had said a word, Dumbledore turned to Harry smiling.

"Would you please go collect yours and Draco's things?"

"Y, you mean that…b, boy is a real…boy? He's really there," Vernon stuttered, though the rage was obvious in his voice. Well, at least Harry could actually say he deserved that rage for once. Draco and him had been terrorizing the entire house from the moment they had arrived.

"Oh yes quite, one of the top potion students actually," Dumbledore said as he smiled a uncle Vernon.

"Come on, I'll show you my room," Harry said quickly tugging at Sirius' arm. The thought of leaving his godfather alone with the Dursleys, even if Dumbledore was there, seemed apocalyptic at the least. They had almost made it to the steps without issue when Draco grabbed Sirius' wrist and pointed to the cupboard.

"That was his bedroom till he was eleven years old."

"DRACO!" Harry groaned feeling every muscle go tense in his godfather's arm.

"WHAT?" Sirius demanded trying to turn around, but Harry was determined and managed to forced godfather farther up the stairs. He gave another shove shockingly succeeding and got Sirius into his current bedroom. Once they were in the room Harry snapped the lock in place on his door and turned on the two.

"See, this is my new room, forget what Draco said it doesn't matter, it's probably because of that, that I'm the Gryffindor's seeker," he said in an attempt to calm Sirius down. It didn't work to well and in the end, he had to shove Hedwig's cage into his godfather's hands glaring. "YOU WILL NOT HARM THE BIRD," he screamed so loudly that Sirius jumped. He looked at Harry nervously and nodded holding the cage as if it were glass. "Thank you," the Gryffindor said happily, then turned to Draco and hit him. "I can't believe you," he hissed grabbing his trunk.

"You sound like your mother," Sirius muttered under his breath as they walked out into the hall and down the stairs.

"I heard that," Harry countered dangerously. If he needed to sound like his mother though to keep everyone in line than so be it. At least the Dursleys would live and there would be a house for him to return to after the school year was over. When they arrived back downstairs, Dumbledore was standing near the door smiling brightly as if he hadn't seen or heard any of Sirius' outbursts and opened the door for them.

"Shall we," he asked in a tone that seemed way to happy to Harry.

"Yeah, bye, thanks for letting Draco stay," he said quickly before running out of the house, Draco close at his heels, both of them laughing.

"I believe they've picked up a few things from you and the Weasley twins," Dumbledore mused. Harry pulled open his trunk and handed Draco his wand before getting his own. "Your cloak to if you would Harry." He nodded pulling that out as well and then closed it.

"Alright, now what," Harry asked excitedly.

"Yes, perhaps a bit too much," the headmaster said to Sirius', the wizard's face blushing slightly. "I believe these things may stay at the Burrow until you get there, we've some business to attend to before arriving…something I need both you Harry and Draco to do…"

"Sure," Harry replied instantly hoping they'd be off on some kind of adventure, mostly something to do with a time turner. It would be risky, he would have to avoid himself somehow while still getting to Tom and convincing him to not be where he was at to get hit by that spell. Worse, if things weren't done just right, Harry might end up dead, but he was more than willing to trade his own life for Tom's.

"That's my godson," Sirius roared throwing his arm around Harry's shoulder and dragging him back into the present. "Into the world of the unknown! We'll take down any dark wizard that gets in our way," he said so loudly Harry was shocked his godfather hadn't woken up all the people in the neighborhood.

"You didn't tell him you were using Harry to obtain a new teacher did you," Draco asked Dumbledore from behind. Sirius was still going on about some kind of adventure him and James had gone on when they were younger and how hard Lupin had tried to stop them only to get caught up in it himself.

"No, I had thought he'd be happy enough with just coming to retrieve Harry…however I must admit, it was not my idea to bring him along in the first place…as you can see." A number of lights had turned on, Sirius still going on and telling Harry that the moral of his story was to never try and stop the adventure, but to run into it head long.

"I see…so he wasn't hearing things," Draco murmured. The Gryfindor had heard it all though and turned around to look at Draco and Dumbledore so that he might try and get an answer, but Dumbledore started talking and all chances were lost.

"Now, since neither of you are seventeen you've yet learn to apparate, so Sirius and I will be taking you along, now, grab my hand please," he said pleasantly holding his hand out. Harry quickly reached out to grab Dumbledore's hand barely getting a grip on it as Sirius grabbed his free hand instead. Sighing Draco walked in between them grabbing Harry's and Dumbledore's hand and then they were gone.

**TBC**

Okay well…I didn't think that would be so long so I lied, though I did have a sinking feeling that Harry would not see Tom yet until the next chapter. Something just told me that when Snape and him were out shopping lol. Oh well, that's what the next chapter is for isn't it? Harry at least got to see Sirius who's making quite a commotion, not that any of them really seem to mind. I still feel bad for Harry about that though, but I'm sure he'll get over that. Well, I hope no one shoots me, because Harry and Tom weren't reunited yet, they will without a doubt in the next chapter unless Tom murders himself or something or somehow the chapter is extended for reasons I'm not even sure myself. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you during the next one.


	5. Angel’s Cage

What's really hard I found out? Finding a decent gift for Harry. I coped out the first time and just gave him Quidditch equipment, but I felt like he deserved a real gift that Tom had actually put thought into. It actually took me over four hours to come up with that. How sad.

**Warning: **It's shonen ai deal with it

**Notes: **It's a sequel you should know that by now and **(X) **is pov change and or time jump.

**Random: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY! And it's also J.R. Rowling's birthday, so to her as well. I modified a few things towards the end for his birthday, even though his actual party won't be until another chapter lol.

Chapter, 5: Angel's Cage

They appeared somewhere, which Harry guessed was very far from Privet Drive. The sensation alone from the form of travel they had just used made him nearly collide with the ground after they'd arrived; his only reason for remaining upright was Sirius' grip on him. Draco on the other hand seemed perfectly normal as if he'd done it thousands of times. He had to wonder if appearating always felt this way or if he was just thrown off so badly due to how they went.

"Dad travels this way a lot," Draco muttered and turned away.

Dumbledore merely smiled and ushered them down a long road. At this point Harry was trying to take everything in, as he'd never been in a village like this before. It looked to him like a village that he may of seen in his muggle history book and the thought excited him that much more when he saw the war memorial in the middle of the town was that of a wizard and not a muggle. He told himself he would definitely look into moving to a wizarding village, he doubted Tom would have anything against such a wish.

"Well now, always best to get a bit of experience in," Dumbledore said happily.

Draco nodded slightly and when Sirius finally let go of Harry's hand, he moved closer to Draco trying to quietly gasp for breath. He didn't want to look incapable in front of his godfather, but the feeling had been so extreme, as if his lungs had been smashed together that he needed to expand them as much as possible. It didn't seem like he had to worry either, as his godfather having been locked up in his own house for so long was examining every inch of the village that they passed. They started to speed up their pace to his godfather's slight disappointment, Dumbledore directing them which way to turn.

"So, who are we questioning," Sirius asked as they moved on, a wide grin on his face.

Harry realized Dumbledore had not told his godfather anything and wondered why, but wasn't surprised when they stopped in front of an empty inn to see the headmaster walk over to Sirius and drop a hand on his shoulder.

"Your heart is in the right place, I think, however you should know, we're not here to kill anyone," Dumbledore stated firmly. Sirius seemed to start pouting at this causing Dumbledore to sigh and continue down the road. "I knew I should have brought Remus with," the headmaster sighed again just loud enough for Harry and Draco to hear. The two snickered, Sirius upon seeing this started whining to try and get out of the boys what they were laughing at. "Harry, you two have been receiving the daily prophet, yes," he asked calmly.

"Yeah," Harry replied dodging to the other side of Draco to avoid a playful punch from Sirius. "We've gotten that and the instructions of what to do since Voldemort is back in power…however…well…" He frowned trying to find the words on how to explain it just right.

"It was useless," Dumbledore, asked, amusement clearly in his tone.

"Yeah, more or less. I can't believe they thought people wouldn't know the things on that list…but what are Inferi-"

"I believe that's what wrongfully accused murder victims are considered once they've been thought to be dead, but show up one night to pounce their poor loved ones into an early grave," Dumbledore said, a grin still on his face. Harry noticed the blush on Sirius own face and realized that his godfather must have jumped Lupin the first day he was able to move. "But to truthfully answer your question Harry, it is a corpse that has been magically taken over to walk and do a wizard's bidding."

"Like a zombie," Harry thought getting odd looks from all three wizards. "Eh, muggle monster," he muttered looking away, which turned out to be a bad idea, because he nearly slammed head first into Dumbledore. He stopped, looking up then. The headmaster had his arm outstretched, the scene in front of them looking very grim indeed. The door was hanging off its hinges and parts of it had been burned.

"Oh dear…." Dumbledore sounded for the first time Harry had heard, very distraught. "All of you, wands out, stay close, Sirius help me," he said his tone stern, but calm as he walked into the house. Sirius of course followed along without hesitation, his wand out and ready. He may have been overly excited to help out, but he knew when to keep himself in check it seemed. "Lumos." The sight that was shown to them was not something Harry wanted to see. Papers and books scattered everywhere, glass shattered and spread across the floor, and what could only be huge amounts of blood covered the entire area of the main room. He took a step closer to his godfather and noticed some feathers from the destroyed cushions covered in some of the blood, but in his mind's eye kept seeing Hedwig on the floor twisted instead. "Search the area," Dumbledore said quietly.

They of course did as they were told, Harry doing his best not to not look towards the cushions anymore and wanting nothing to do with the scene they had stumbled upon. Seconds passed, the smell of the blood was starting to get to Harry's head when he noticed Dumbledore had stopped near a chair and was examining it. He remained where he was hoping that if Dumbledore had found the body he wouldn't have to see it.

"Sirius…may I request your help in doing away with such a hideous object," the headmaster asked.

Harry thought they sounded as if they were trying to do away with an ugly painting rather than a body and looked to Draco his eyes slightly widened. Harry couldn't believe what was going on at this death scene and even Draco grabbed onto Harry's arm as they watched his godfather walk over to the chair. Harry noticed a smirk suddenly crossing onto his godfather's face.

"Why of course." The animagus put his wand to the bottom of the couch smirking. "Ready?" Dumbledore nodded. "Incendio!" At the same time the flames started, Dumbledore shoved his wand into the top of the chair. There was a loud scream and both boys jumped back, the chair now a moving man, as he rubbed the bottom of his stomach and eye.

"What in the bloody! You didn't have to set me on fire," the man yelled dousing the flames with some water from his wand, his eye still black from Dumbledore protruding his wand into it. He looked around glaring and then sighed as he saw the two students and Sirius standing in front of him. "So what gave me away," he mumbled looking very disheartened, Harry thought he recognized the look from Fred or George when one of their tricks failed to work.

"If there had been a death eater here, they'd have certainly left the dark mark above your house," the headmaster smiled brightly. "Now would you like us to help you clean up?" The man nodded and he and Dumbledore set to work fixing everything within the house. Sirius on the other hand remained where he was refusing to help at all. He looked like he was in a bad mood to Harry, which was quite proven when the fat man tried to say something to Sirius and he scowled walking to the other side of the room. "He's just escaped death you see, still very cold, what type of blood was used," Dumbledore asked.

"Dragon's blood…"

"Now then-"

"There is no way I'm going to teach; no way…Is that Harry Potter?" The bluntness of the question made everyone else in the room look at him, but he didn't seem to notice. "It is, isn't it?...I know where you're going with this," the fat wizard screamed walking away. He moved over to his fireplace, back to where they were standing and then over to another part of the room. "I won't do it, no, I'm in retirement and I plan to stay there!"

"Certainly the comforts of Hogwarts and the security there would be enough to persuade you to come back…After all, I'm sure Voldemort has attempted to obtain you for your brilliant work already," Dumbledore started.

"Brilliant scams," Sirius muttered. Harry seemed to be the only one who noticed though and turned back to the man as him and Dumbledore talked. It didn't seem to him like they'd be stopping anytime soon so he walked over to where his godfather had taken a seat on the couch and sat beside him.

"You know him," Harry asked quietly.

"Potions teacher, my potions teacher that is," he said with a scowl. "I could never stand him; he was always trying to get your mother and me to-"

"Where's your bathroom?" Upon hearing this question the other three all looked like they'd be hit. Draco, Harry, and it seemed especially Sirius did not wish to be left in the room alone with this man, however the headmaster disappeared down the hall leaving them as such, a very awkward silence falling down around them.

"So…your dad's Lucius Malfoy huh," the potions teacher asked looking at Draco. "Can tell by the hair…." he explained motioning to his own hair. His question had won him a very evil glare from Draco who said nothing. "Used to teach him potions myself…not so well, not like your mother," he said turning to Harry. "Lily Potter…oh she was a brilliant student, most wonderful…one of my favorites yes…"

"Don't talk about her," Sirius growled. "She wasn't one of your little pets." Harry had no idea what was going on, but by the sounds of his godfather's tone, it wasn't good. "You Slughorn have no right to speak about his parents. They became great without any of your help." The words seem to sting the old professor, but he blew Sirius off a few moments later his eyes going back to Harry's and Draco's.

"Yes, I'm quite fond of certain students when they do well…you're I heard the top potion maker in the class, Slytherin too," he asked looking hungrily at Draco. The boy moved closer to Harry, but nodded quickly hoping no doubt that the man would ignore him again if he saw Harry. "And your subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts….yes I would have expected no less…a Gryffindor no doubt, as your godfather hasn't seem to have disowned you-"

"I'D NEVER DISOWN HIM NO MATTER WHAT HOUSE HE WAS IN," Sirius screamed getting to his feet. Slughorn instantly took some steps back holding his wand out defensively. Harry didn't have the heart to stop his godfather, he was after all defending basically everything he loved and so decided should this man accidentally die, well, that would be his own fault and not theirs.

"R, right of course not," Slughorn stammered. "I only meant…well you see you were so against your brother who was in Slytherin-"

"My brother was ten times the man you are," he growled. "A bastard in his own right, but still better than you."

"So, I'm guessing the only safe place left away from these suppose adults is at Hogwarts," Harry muttered as Draco and him watched the two men fight it out with words. "After all, Professor McGonagall and Snape would never allow anything to happen to us…I'm beginning to think Professor Dumbledore left through a back door…" Draco snickered at that nodding. As they waited longer and longer however for the headmaster to return and the fight between the ex student and ex teacher to stop, they truly began to worry. "Maybe we should check on him…or just find our own way out," Harry said quietly.

"And that's, that!" Sirius roared and stomped back over to the couch. Slughorn coughed nervously and took a seat across from them. Just when it seemed like nothing could make anything worse Dumbledore came back in smiling brightly as if he'd somehow heard nothing.

"Well then, we best be going," he said in the same cheerful tone as he had after he'd poked Slughorn in the eye. "Oh, I dare say Horace, have you congratulated Sirius on having his name cleared?"

"C, cleared," the man asked looking thoroughly shaken. He seemed and for obvious reasons, to not enjoy this bit of information at all.

"Yes, I'm free to roam wherever I want," Sirius seethed his eyes burning holes into the potions teacher. Slughorn quickly inched to the right to try and get Sirius' gaze away from him.

"Yes, well, come along then everyone must get Harry and Draco to bed." They hadn't taken three steps before Slughorn screamed at them to stop.

"He, he's not allowed in the school right," He asked pointing at Sirius without hesitation. The animagus growled, but didn't move.

"No, not unless Harry should need a parent present," the headmaster smiled.

"I'll do it," he shrieked backing away from them. "I will, I want a raise, but I will…" Dumbledore's smile widened and he bowed to him.

"Thank you Horace or I should say Professor Slughorn. I look forward to seeing you at Hogwarts before the first of September-"

"And when breaking into a muggles house, you shouldn't destroy it," Sirius growled cutting Dumbledore off. He muttered an apology to the headmaster and sulked off into the front yard. Dumbledore merely smiled though and the two boys hurried after them leaving a very frightened teacher behind them.

"I don't like him…he reminds me of an over ambitious Pettigrew," Harry growled and almost regretted the words instantly, Sirius' hand slamming down hard onto his shoulder. His eyes watered slightly and he couldn't believe just half an hour ago that he'd shoved this man into his room with a single strong push.

"Got Lily's brains and James' intuition! He knows a dark wizard when he sees one," Sirius said all too happily. Draco jerked around at this, fear no doubt still going through him at the conversation he and Harry had, had about the new teacher. Dumbledore noticed this quickly and set off to dispel his fears.

"Now, now Sirius, vain he may be, but dark? He fears too much for his own comfort to join Voldemort."

"Then why did you have him join us?" Sirius asked.

"Simply, because I needed a new teacher," Dumbledore replied as if the answer should have been completely obvious. Harry's godfather was about to say something, but he decided against it. The man let out a sigh and just nodded. This seemed to please Dumbledore and he held his hand out again. "To your beds then," Dumbledore said happily. "Sirius, please take Draco, I'd like a word with Harry if you don't mind."

"Of course not." He glared at Draco, who glared back at him, but he took his hand anyway and suddenly they were gone. Dumbledore repeated this, taking Harry's own hand and suddenly they too were standing in a new area, what looked to be a shed.

"Now listen to me Harry, I've only a few things to tell you and a question to ask then you may run into that house and become filled with utter bliss." Harry doubted he'd be filled with utter bliss by merely seeing Ron and Hermione, who he doubted were even awake at this hour, but he nodded knowing what Dumbledore had to say must be important. "First of all, has your scar been hurting you at all?"

"No, actually it hasn't," Harry said slightly shocked. He hadn't quite realized it hadn't been until asked, his hand instinctively going towards it, but he felt no pain what so ever and hadn't at all during the summer now that he thought about it. "I've been hearing voices sometimes…but that's it."

"Yes well, in due time. That would not be Voldemort," he smiled. "I would like to ask you if you've told anyone about the prophecy first of all?"

"Just Draco," he replied quickly. "And that was just in case he got to Tom before I did…speaking of which, Professor the time turner-"

"I wish for you to also tell your friends Hermione and Ron," he said cutting Harry off. "Times like these Harry you need to rely on friends, they are what will help you reach your goals, and you should tell them." He smiled at Harry's confused look. "And last, I'd like to request that you begin taking private lessons with myself, as I believe I should be taking more of a part in your education."

"Private lessons," Harry asked even more shocked, the time turner completely out of his mind now. "What kind of lessons?"

"Oh just a bit of everything," the headmaster smiled and opened the shed door. "Oh, and I wish for you also to keep that wonderful cloak of yours on you at all times, even during the school year. Now, let's not have them waiting any longer, I'm sure the Weasley family would love to get into bed. After all, you must be well rested for when your O.W.L.S arrive later today." That said he walked over to the door of the Burrow, Harry barely understanding what Dumbledore was getting at followed him, Draco and Sirius already waiting.

"Did you get yelled at," Draco asked grinning.

"Yep, if we do anything like we did at the Dursleys we'll get sent to Azkaban," he joked. The two started snickering as Dumbledore came around the house to the back door and knocked on it.

"So this is Weasley's house huh," Draco, asked looking around. Harry knew it wasn't much to someone like Draco who seemed to have a house elf to do everything for him and suddenly the aspect of making Malfoy collect his own eggs from the chickens thrilled him to no ends. Even so, this house was one of those places Harry could call another home. In his mind, it was perfect, every odd end, every random jutting out of place thing, it just made the house that much grander in his eyes.

"Who's there? Declare yourself or I'll be forced to take the proper measures," a voice from behind the door shouted. Harry blinked wondering who it was behind the door, he was sure he'd heard the voice before.

"Is that Granger," Malfoy asked trying to hold back his laughter. Harry had to admit if that was Hermione, she did sound very amusing with the tone she was trying to keep.

"It is I, Dumbledore, bringing Harry and Draco and sadly Sirius." He smiled at the man who was now glaring at him.

"Your favorite jam," the voice demanded.

"Ah, finally, someone who's obeying the rules. Raspberry." The door was thrown open, Harry was shocked it hadn't been pulled off the hinges at the speed and was thrown into such a tight hug he didn't know if this or Sirius' had been worse. He tried to escape, only succeeding in getting a tighter hug before the arms finally fell away and he stumbled into the house.

"Harry, dear! Draco! Albus! You told me not to expect you before morning!" If the hug hadn't shocked Harry enough, the sight standing in front of him did. Before him in an old green housecoat, solid and all was Mrs. Weasley looking completely scared and yet delighted at the same time.

"How…Ron's letter…he was telling the truth," Harry whispered harshly to Draco, though strained. Draco just stood beside him nodding, he obviously hadn't expected this, as Mrs. Weasley was known as dead to the wizarding world.

"It seems having Sirius along and of course these two," Dumbledore motioned to them with his hand. "Things have gone a lot smoother and thus we have a full staff again," he said brightly.

"Tonks," Sirius grinned stepping out from behind Dumbledore. His cousin looked up at him grinning back and held her hand up to him. He gave her a high five, something Harry found odd for some reason. "Got to give old man Slughorn a run for his money."

"Wish I could have helped, he was really annoying," she grinned back at him. The two cousins began talking then leaving the other four to their own conversations. Harry was at a complete lost for words, he had no idea what to say, or even think and suddenly he was looking at Sirius palely.

"They're not…Professor they're not the…Inferi are they," he asked desperately looking up at the headmaster as if he was a lost puppy.

"What? Sirius? Molly? Heavens no Harry, Sirius is quite alive and I've made a special request for Molly after she decided to stay here for now," he smiled.

"Wh, what?"

"Oh Harry! How could I possibly leave my children, you included, in such a tough time? I decided I could move on later, for now my family needs me," she said brightly. "And thanks to a few ministry tricks, I'm as good as new and I can even come with you when your buy your things in Diagon," she said happily.

"Wow…that's great Mrs. Weasley!" Harry had no idea how this could happen, but he knew he was happy. Now Ron wouldn't be forced to have a broken family, or at least not to the effect that he or Draco had suddenly come to know. He also reminded himself that the first chance he got her alone he was needed to apologize to her for the way he'd been acting the year before.

"Are you hungry?"

"Actually, yes," he admitted sheepishly.

"Well, I shall see you at school Harry remember what I've told you." Dumbledore said bowing slightly to Harry and Draco. "Be careful, don't want to harm any of your friends," he smiled looking to Sirius and Tonks. "Coming then?"

"Yeah," Sirius grinned and the two of them walked over to the headmaster. "I'll be seeing you soon Harry. You can count on that."

"Oh are any of you showing up this weekend for dinner? I know Remus said he'd be here…"

"Then we surely will," Sirius, laughed dropping an arm on Tonk's shoulder. Harry had never seen his godfather so carefree and felt a new surge of happiness go through him as the three wizards left, Mrs. Weasley closing the door behind them.

"I never thought I'd see the day when he'd be able to walk free again," she said happily. "But everything seemed to work out just fine, oh right, Draco dear are you hungry as well?" He nodded quietly. "No need to be scared, dead or not I can cook just as good! Go change into your pajamas while I do this, that way you can get straight to bed after wards. Harry you're in…well you're in…Draco you're with Ron…"

"Percy's room," Harry asked quietly and Mrs. Weasley nodded. Harry had a feeling she knew Percy had been the cause of her death and quickly made it up the stairs, Draco close behind. "I can't believe she's actually here…I thought Ron was lying or mad."

"Well he's obviously got a bit more brains than we gave him credit for," Draco said with a scowl, but Harry could tell he was nervous, not that he wasn't. He'd never heard of a ghost being able to take a solid form and be able to do things such as cook a full meal, let alone be able to leave their 'haunting' grounds.

"Oh right, Ron's room is the only one at the very top of the stairs…mine's over here," he pointed to Percy's old room frowning at it. He couldn't believe he'd have to sleep in the same room where a murderer had, but then Percy hadn't become a murderer until after he'd moved out. "I'll see you downstairs in a minute or two…" They separated, upon opening the door a ginger cat walked over to Harry and followed him inside. "Hey Crook-shanks," he smiled stroking the cat behind the ears. When he and the cat were both in, he shut the door enclosing them in darkness. "Okay, not the brightest idea…"

He started walking in the direction he knew an oil lamp was in and cursed his foot hitting a trunk. He managed to walk around it, his hand on top of it making sure he wouldn't hit it again and moved forward only to have his knees slam into what he guessed was the frame of the bed. There was a loud crashing noise, Harry who'd been holding his knee stumbled back.

"Lumos!" The entire room lit up and Harry was at a lost for words. Their eyes met at the same moment and they both froze. Sitting in the bed that Harry had so wonderfully kicked was Tom. He looked different to Harry, older he realized, his eyes has changed slightly, but they held the same love and warmth that he'd seen so many times before.

"I'm...awake right?" Harry asked tears starting to trail down his cheeks. "I'm not going to come towards you and you vanish just so I can wake up back at the Dursleys?" He slowly started towards the bed and climbed onto it. "I can touch you..." He lifted his hand, but couldn't bring himself to do anything, but that was alright. The Slytherin was more than ready to take over moving in close to capture Harry's lips with his own.

"So help me if this is a dream," Harry growled throwing his arms around Tom's neck. The other boy quickly embraced him tightly; he closed his eyes sighing and took in Tom's scent. "It's you…it's really you…I thought all those nightmares…why haven't you contacted me," he demanded, but he couldn't keep his tone stern and instead his voice ended up cracking as more tears fell.

"I tried…Dumbledore didn't want you doing anything stupid, like running back off to Hogwarts…my body's been through a lot," the heir laughed and eased his embrace to get a better look at his lover. He brought his hand up instantly to stroke Harry's face who closed his eyes again relaxing at the touch. "You've grown," he muttered quietly.

"I've missed you so much…I was going to use a time turner… stop us from going to the ministry…I can't believe you're okay…" Despite his attempts, he couldn't stop the tears. All summer he'd been thinking and plotting to get Sirius and his boyfriend back and somehow they'd both been handed back to him. He'd been given a second chance, somehow, and he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Tom on the other hand was to busy wiping Harry's tears away to answer yet and kissed him. Harry's insides lit and the fire that he'd been missing was suddenly there again, his will to live returned. He quickly kissed him again pushing Tom onto his back as they embraced once more, their lips only parting every other minute or so to get breath.

"You're a fool," Tom hissed at him his left hand going up to Harry's neck and pressing his closer. "If you'd had done as you'd intended, you may have died. A didn't Dumbledore tell you? All the time turners were destroyed that night."

For a second Harry nearly lost himself. Dumbledore had not mentioned a thing about all the time turners being completely destroyed. He had agreed to Harry's plan to get Sirius and his boyfriend back and now he understood why. The headmaster hadn't protested, because there was no way Harry could have managed to do it in the first place.

One look at his boyfriend however and it didn't seem to matter anymore. Tom was there, Sirius was still alive, his world had once again been pieced back together, and it was as it should have been. They would just have to be extra careful this year.

"That's alright…you'll save me from my mistakes," Harry whispered and suddenly they were kissing again, Harry's arms moving from Tom's back to around his neck as they had been. The fire between them rose quickly and they both almost seemed desperate for one another's touch when suddenly there was a loud slamming noise and Harry found himself on the floor, his glasses hanging halfway off. "What in the world," he muttered their moment completely broken. "I think we were caught," he muttered fixing his glasses and standing up.

"No duh," Tom growled sitting up. He grabbed Harry's wrist, started to pull him back towards the bed until he heard Harry's stomach growl. "….Fine, I guess that means you're hungry," he asked sighing. Harry nodded and he climbed out of the bed walking over to the door. When Harry didn't follow him, though he stared down on the floor at him. "What?"

"I have to change," Harry said his face turning red and he walked over to his trunk to go through his things. Tom obviously liked this idea, because he leaned against the wall, then smirking watching Harry's every move.

"And you told me I'd never see you strip."

Glaring Harry grabbed his pajama's, walked into the closet, slammed the door shut, and changed in there. When he walked back out he saw Tom death glaring him, but he just smirked and walked out of the room, Tom following close behind.

'You're the one who showed Mrs. Weasley how to take on a solid form,' Harry asked mentally. It felt wonderful to him to be able to use their mental link once more. It also felt slightly raw, but Harry was sure they would be able to fix that within the next few days or so. He planned on using it a lot.

'Of course I am. Who else can teach people that sort of thing?' They made their way into the kitchen where sat a very pale looking Ron and Draco. Neither of them would look at Harry or Tom when they sat down and they kept their eyes on the food, their faces completely red.

Harry now knew who'd caught them at least and was glad it wasn't Mrs. Weasley or Ginny.

"Now Aderes you're not supposed to be out of bed," Mrs. Weasley said quickly as she set a plate of food in front of Harry. "Are you hungry? I'm sorry if Harry woke you up, but we only have so many rooms…" She looked completely distraught.

"No, it was the best wake up call ever and I'd be quite well fed if someone else wasn't hungry," he sighed dropping his head onto the table.

"There's quite enough more food," she started, but seeing the look in Tom's eyes went quiet. She knew he wasn't talking about food. "Right…so…Remus and Severus weren't lying…" Her voice trailed off her eyes fixed on the two boys in front of her.

"I have every intention on making Harry mine again before he's of age if that's what you mean."

The bluntness of the statement made Mrs. Weasley jump as if she'd been slapped, Ron was already glaring at Tom, but in the end there was nothing they could do. Tom was after all, the strongest and most powerful wizard currently in that house. Of course, this didn't stop Harry, who turned on Tom nearly hitting him, Tom grabbing his wrist just as the fist nearly connected. There was an odd cracking noise, the same one he'd heard when he had hugged Sirius and his eyes widen in horror once more as he stared at Tom's now useless hand.

"T, Tom," he screamed all thoughts of food completely out of his mind. "What in the…Your hand!" Mrs. Weasley of course didn't wait for him to give Harry an answer. Instead she shoved Harry and his food aside, a bottle of potion in her hand, the same he'd seen Sirius use, and gave it to Tom forcing him to drink it.

"This is exactly why I kept you up there in bed and why Albus told you not to go anywhere," she said angrily. Tom looked away thoroughly embarrassed, but remained silent. He didn't seem to be able to look Harry in the eyes anymore and so closed his own, his hand once again fixed.

"S, so umm…where's Mr. Weasley," Harry asked before he could do anymore damage to his seemingly fragile boyfriend. His mind was suddenly filled with thousands of questions that he wanted to ask Tom, but he held his tongue, there would be time for that later in the privacy of their own room.

"Oh, he should be arriving soon," she said nervously. "He's got a promotion, have you heard?" She looked happy, but thanks to Tom's outburst seemed to have gone more into herself and was only speaking a few sentences at a time.

"No, that's great Mrs. Weasley! What's he doing now?"

"Well, he's the head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects," she beamed. Harry just stared and blinked.

'He takes fake protection objects and gets rid of them,' Tom explained his hand snaking over to Harry's own.

"O, oh that sounds wonderful."

"It is, he now has ten people working under him," she said happily. "He should be home soon," she suddenly repeated looking nervously over at her clock. Harry followed her gaze to see that all nine hands were currently placed on mortal danger. "It's been like that since you-know-who and all…" She tried to laugh and failed, walking over to the sink to make the dishes start washing themselves.

At this point Harry felt Tom's hand and he tightened his grip trying to smile. He still felt awful for what he'd done and tried to eat his soup again hoping they'd all forget this night by the time they'd all gotten a good nights sleep. Harry wasn't going to be forgetting this night any time soon, his world had been restored to perfectness, but the others could. Without thinking, he started to stroke his thumb over Tom's hand.

'Just to make things clear, I'm not sleeping with you,' Harry told him no room for discussion in his tone.

'You seemed pretty willing a few minutes ago,' Tom sighed, but dropped it. Harry saw the mental images of him and Tom from the first time and shuddered at it. The thought of being forced onto the ground, Tom taking complete control…and yet the warmth and over whelming feeling of love that followed...

"Ask me the question," Mr. Weasley demanded cutting into Harry's thoughts. He was quite glad for the distraction and even turned around in his seat to look at the door where Mrs. Wealsey was standing.

"Arthur I know if its you or not, being dead has its advantages…"

"I have to set a good example, I work for the ministry Molly, now asked me." She sighed looking at the table and back to the door.

"What is your dearest ambition?"

"To find out how airplanes stay up." If Harry had been attempting to eat his soup at that moment he'd of choked on it. He sometimes forgot how some of the simplest of muggle things amazed other wizards, the TV for example.

"Mollywobbles," was all Harry heard Mrs. Weasley whisper and he was sure had she not already been dead, she'd of died of embarrassment there. She opened the door, her husband walking in smiling brightly, and waved at the four boys sitting at the table.

"Ron, Harry, Draco, Tom," he walked over to Harry shaking his hand and then held his out to Draco. "Heard you tried to take that nasty father of yours down, but we'll keep you safe."

"Thanks," Draco muttered shaking Ron's father's hand. Suddenly there seemed to be a connection again, their group was whole and Harry was beginning to feel hyper just at the thought of it. Later that day they'd have Hermione with them, later that weekend Sirius Lupin, Tonks, Fred, and George, it was a good day.

"Is that onion soup," Mr. Weasley asked looking at his wife. She nodded quickly and then there was another bowl full of soup on the table for him. "Thanks, it smells wonderful." He sat down and began to eat his dinner while he talked about his day. Despite the hyperness, Harry was feeling he yawned, Mrs. Weasley noticing instantly.

"Bed," she instructed before he'd even finished the yawn. Sighing he got up, Tom attached to his arm for once and the two of them headed up the stairs after he'd said goodnight to everyone else. Tom seemed to have thought that the landing was a much more enjoyable place than their room and started kissing him again, Harry's back to the wall.

'You seem to enjoy having me pinned,' Harry scolded him playfully.

'I do.' he replied finally grabbing the doorknob and opening it. They nearly crashed into the floor as they went, Tom having attempted to get them out of the view of Ron and Draco who were just now walking up the stairs, Draco grinning at them.

"At least keep it in the room," Ron groaned. "Mum didn't believe you two were dating, she's going to have a heart attack when she realizes Harry's okay with this."

"And what's she going to say when she finds out about us," Malfoy asked eyeing Ron cautiously.

"She's going to throw me out of the house and tell me to never come back," he muttered. "Night guys." He headed up the stairs, Draco following behind him scowling and yelling at Ron's back.

"It's been a long night…I want to go to bed Tom, besides, we get our O.W.L.S. today," he yawned again. He wondered if Mrs. Weasley had put a sleeping draught into his soup, but blew the idea off walking over to the nearest bed and falling on top of it. "Dumbledore said I needed sleep to look at it."

"Well that just screams failure," Tom said, but he did nothing, merely blew out the candles before lying down next to Harry wrapping his arms around him tightly. "I've missed this so much," he whispered.

"So have I…but that's okay, never again…I'm never letting you go again," he promised his hands going to Tom's own. He wrapped his own arms around Tom, his eyes closed now and they both drifted off finally at peace.

**TBC**

There we go, another chapter done and ready to post, on Harry's birthday no less (At least in reality.) So Happy birthday Harry, you got Tom back even if your first encounter with him has once again, been a bit shaky. Hope you guys enjoy the updated!


	6. Sanctuary

All right, finally, Harry and Tom are back together and now of course more problems are rising, as the school year gets closer. Yay! Maybe.

**Warnings: **It's shonen ai, pretty obvious from the previous chapter.

**Notes: **It's a sequel, **(X) **is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 6: Sanctuary

"Up, get up, and one of you get onto the other bed!"

"Ron don't hit him!"

"Just help me move him, Draco open the curtains!" Harry groaned trying to pull the blanket around him closer, realizing Tom was behind him and on top of the blanket, he abandoned his goal and sighed. Turning over he looked wearily at his boyfriend who looked very distorted since he was currently not wearing his glasses, but he saw Tom open an eye, it looked like he may have been glaring at someone.

"If you try and move Harry even an inch away from me I'll cut your throat out," the heir hissed.

Harry thought Tom was going to jump them and instantly put his hand on Tom's wrist to hold him down, he didn't feel like being separated from him yet, nor having the room covered in blood. Instead of allowing a fight to break out he moved over so he was on top of his boyfriend, his head going to the nook of his neck.

"You smell good," Harry whispered allowing his eyes to close. He took note of Tom's pride through their bond and laughed. It seemed his boyfriend had bathed for nearly an hour before Harry had arrived the night before.

"Someone's in a pleasant mood," Draco mused from somewhere and suddenly he and Tom were thrown into a shower of sunlight. Sighing Harry sat up regardless of Tom's protests and pulled his glasses off the nightstand with his free hand. He didn't even remember moving his glasses, but at least they were in good shape.

"I see Harry managed to keep you alive over the summer," Tom yawned, but there was a grin on his face as he pulled Harry back down into his lap and looked at Draco. The Slytherin nodded and walked over to the empty bed standing beside Ron and Hermione.

"Hey Hermione," Harry grinned. Yes, the Gryffindor was slightly embarrassed with the position he was in. Cuddling with Tom in public on a couch or near a tree was one thing, having his female friend see him in bed with his boyfriend was another matter.

"Mom's bringing you breakfast in bed, said you look underfed," Ron muttered. "And he needs to stay away from you while Mum's around. We have enough problems," he said pointing at Tom. "Get out of his bed and in the other one."

"I was sleeping here quite comfortably before Harry came in and kicked it," the heir snickered. "I have no intentions of surrendering him to you or anyone else in this house." The words may have been said matter of factly, but the threat behind them was obvious. Harry couldn't help feeling the same way though, he'd just been reunited with Tom after a summer of nearly going insane. He still felt like he was going to wake up back at number four pivert drive with Draco telling him he had gone utterly mad.

"Problems?" Harry asked instead of taking Tom's bait. He wasn't going to fight with him. This time around their relationship was going to be so much stronger, he was going to do whatever he could to make things perfect, or as close to perfect as he could with Tom as a boyfriend.

"Mum doesn't accept the fact that you two are dating," Ron said shifting nervously. "She'll get really angry with you two." Despite his desperate look, Harry and Tom just stared at him, this causing Draco to burst out in laughter.

"I told you they weren't going to listen. You're selfish Weasly," Draco said smugly. Harry had a feeling the two had already had this conversation before they'd come in woken Harry up.

"Morning," Ginny said from the doorway inching her way in. She seemed to be avoiding something and looked quite out of place in the group that was standing in front of her. She had after all caused them a good amount of problems within the ministry unlike the others and not to mention the smaller issues she'd done to drive Harry mad, because of his relationship with Tom.

"Ron, what's going on," Harry demanded, but even as he spoke the door opened again and in came Mrs. Wealsey and a young woman with such beauty Harry forced himself to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing things right. She looked strangely familiar to him and without thinking; he looked to Draco who merely shrugged at him before he turned back to the woman.

"Arry, Eet' as been too long!" He couldn't believe he'd ever met this woman before in his life and was even more shocked when she placed the tray of food onto his knees and kissed him on the cheek. Tom's grip on Harry's hand tightened considerably and Harry was sure the blood had stopped flowing in it.

"I was just about to bring the tray up myself," Mrs. Weasley said hotly from the doorway. She too didn't seem to like the attention that the woman was giving Harry and she looked even more horrified when she noticed Harry was sitting in Tom's lap. "There are two beds in here," she said awkwardly.

"That we don't need," Tom snapped, but he wasn't even looking at Mrs. Weasley, his eyes were glued on the woman who'd dared to kiss his boyfriend.

"I' ave been longing to see 'im. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about 'Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again." Harry blinked again and realized the woman in front of him was actually Fleur Delacour from the Tri-Wizard tournament. "Eet was no trouble to bring it up." Harry didn't know what to say anymore. He tried to think of a way to calm Tom down, but Fleur herself threw them all into a state of frozen shock, so he didn't need to do anything. "To think, next summer when we marry, you can see my seester again!"

'Well haven't you been busy while I was gone,' Tom mentally hissed and Harry felt like his insides were going to burn from Tom's anger.

'I have no idea what's going on!'

"Ma, married," Harry choked sitting up. The thought of marrying Fleur did not only shock him, but to points enraged him. Who had been planning such a thing while he was at the Dursleys?

"Yes, Bill and I are going to be married!" She looked happily at him. "And eet would be good if you and my seester were ring barer and flower girl."

"Oh." Harry's voice was suddenly emotionless as he mentally sighed. Tom who had at one point seemed to have stopped giving off threatening vibes, but his grip did not loosen a bit. He still seemed angry at the kiss. "That's umm wonderful, congratulations!" She kissed him again saying thank you and walked out of the room leaving everyone else there, Harry still in a bit of a daze. He couldn't really say no to her at the moment about helping in the wedding all he could do was hope she'd forget and that Tom didn't kill them before hand. "I, I think she just likes to kiss people," he attempted, but Tom just looked past him to Draco.

"So, you two related," Tom, asked Draco glared at him, but couldn't deny any possibilities since his mother and father refused to allow him any contact with his Veela side. "I see…your hair looks the same," he smirked.

"So, umm…hey guys," Harry, said trying to force himself to sound happy. He was happy at the point that he had food, Tom, and all his friends, but the looks he was getting from Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were enough to make him want to throw himself out the window.

"Mom hates her," Ginny said quickly before anyone else could speak.

"I do not! I just think…oh they shouldn't rush into these things! They've barely known each other a year," she said in a heated tone before walking out of the room. She appeared a few seconds later and ordered Ginny to come with her downstairs to help fix lunch and to order Tom out of Harry's bed. Sulking Ginny followed her.

"You know, she wouldn't let me leave this bed. It was mine yesterday," Tom said faking a pout. "Then you show up and I get replaced."

"Don't worry about it. I don't care whose bed it is, we're sharing it." The tension gone Harry turned his head so he could give Tom a kiss on the check. "What time is it anyway?" He asked the others. It didn't seem that late in the day given the position of the sun outside the window and Harry was sure given the weird hours he'd been keeping over the summer that he wouldn't have that tired when he arrived at the Burrow.

"About nine or so," Ron grinned. He sat down on Harry's bed stealing a piece of his toast as Harry took a bite of his eggs. "So, what did you do last night with Dumbledore?"

"Recruited a new teacher," Harry explained looking back over at Tom. Harry shoved a fork full of his breakfast into his mouth and grinned at him. "Good?" The heir nodded and bit down on his ear.

"Not as good as you are though."

"Oh…right…Umbridge kind of died," Ron said nervously glancing at Tom before going back to the toast. "So who's the new teacher?"

"Yeah…" In an attempt to keep himself from being eaten, Harry shoved some more of his food into Tom's mouth who seemed to be utterly enjoying himself. "So umm…I guess he's Slytherin…or was the head of Slytherin, Sirius mentioned it, but half of last night is a blur. He taught potions though," he said a bit more quietly than he'd intended to. Tom instantly started coughing and he looked at Harry, his eyes watering before he finally swallowed the eggs.

"Horace Slughorn," he demanded looking now completely shaken.

"Yeah, that's him," Harry said. It was nice to have his boyfriend back who seemed to have an answer for everything. "He reminds me of your rat Ron." Ron looked at him, blinked, realized what he was saying and made a face. "He's about as vain, but more ambitious…"

"Cheap, lowlife, one more teacher to kill…" Harry looked over to his boyfriend in mild shock.

"We do NOT need another death. They're going to figure out it was you if you keep killing them off," he warned, but Tom didn't seem to be listening. He was now scowling at the floor muttering one thing after another to himself ignoring everyone else. "Wonderful," Harry sighed.

"So umm…nothing to do with that prop-" Ron let out a scream of shock, Hermione's foot having connected with his. He held onto it dropping Harry's toast onto the bed and glared at her rubbing it. "What the bloody hell Hermione?"

"We're not supposed to…oh…" Her voice trailed off seeing the look on Harry's face and she sighed. "We weren't supposed to mention it," she said quickly looking away from both of them. Harry looked to Draco who shrugged once again and then back down at his plate. Harry picked it up, set the tray down on the floor, and removed his glasses.

"Look…Dumbledore told me I should tell you guys anyway…" He sounded distressed now and they all seemed to pick up on it, even Tom stopped and started at him. "You see…I, the prophecy…Dumbledore told me what it was…because he was the one who'd heard it in the first place…" None of them had taken their eyes off him, not even Draco who he'd already told. "And basically in the end…it said neither can live while the other survives…so one of us has to die…"

"Which will be him," Tom said so seriously Harry didn't dare to disagree. His arms were wrapping around Harry tightly and he enjoyed every minute of it. "He will, right everyone? Voldemort will not win."

"Of course he won't," Hermione joined in. "What kind of friends would we be if we let you die?" The words didn't really make Harry feel any better, but the fact that they were still standing behind him did.

"Well, Dumbledore said he'd be giving me private lessons this year…so I guess I may have a chance…though he didn't tell me what we'd be learning," he admitted placing his glasses back on. He seemed to be able to say nerve-wrecking things a lot easier without the glasses on.

"Well that must mean he thinks you have a chance Harry," Hermione said delighted. The other two were nodding, Tom still hadn't let go of him.

"I would hope so," Harry said. It wasn't like he was going to just let Voldemort walk in and kill him after all. Even if Dumbledore didn't think he could survive, he would have fought any way to the very end.

"And I'll be helping you every step of the way," Tom assured him.

"I have to be the one to kill him though, that's what the prophecy said." Harry felt a weird feeling through his bond and turned around to look at his boyfriend. "You knew we'd have to kill him...right?" Harry asked hoping this was not going to be some dangerous turning point.

"Of course," Tom said softly. "What happens if I accidentally finish him off first though? You don't think I'm going to allow you to face him alone, do you?"

"I never dreamed of it," Harry grinned at him. He wasn't sure if he could even get himself to face Voldemort without Tom standing behind him. He had learned well enough last year that he had become completely dependent on his boyfriend, be it for better or worse. "I suppose you'll just have to hold him down while I say the killing curse."

"That means I'll have to teach you them," the heir whispered into his ear sending shivers down his back. While Harry knew the incarnations and what to do, having the nerve to use the spells were another matter, something he would no doubt have to practice."First let's see where we're at though." With that Tom stood up taking Harry's hand and leading him to the door.

"Where are we going," Harry asked following his boyfriend. The other three in the room followed after them, no doubt out of curiosity.

"You said the O.W.L.S. were coming right? I want to-" He was cut off by Hermione screaming so loud Harry had thought she'd been stabbed and she ran pass them and down the steps before they could register what happened. "She wasn't Curcioed right…?"

"I don't think so," Harry said uneasily. He removed his hand from Tom who looked at him before he motioned to his trunk. He then changed his clothes quickly and the four boys went out to the landing. "How was your first night back with your boyfriend, Draco?" Harry asked nudging Draco in the side. The Slytherin scowled at him, but said nothing.

"Not good, he told him Ron wouldn't even let him into the same room at first," Tom told him. Harry couldn't believe that, but one look at Malfoy told him that Tom was telling the truth.

"Why not?"

"Because his mummy wouldn't like it," Draco seethed. "I had to threaten to get his mum to even let me in the room. She's thinking of sending me into Fred and George's though, since Ron's such a git."

"I am not! I just don't think we should be doing anything here. My mum will kill me!"

"Hasn't stopped them," Draco said motioning to Harry and Tom. "But that's alright. I think I would rather have my own room. At least I won't have to hear your snoring," Draco fumed. He sulked down the steps leaving the other three behind.

"You can't just ignore him," Harry said finally when Ron hadn't moved to go after his boyfriend. "You two were more comfortable with each other than I was with Tom...you can't just pretend none of that ever happened."

"I can in my house," Ron muttered. He headed down the steps then, Harry and Tom following behind him.

'This is mad. How can Ron just disown his boyfriend like this?'

'You do it all the time,' Tom pointed out causing Harry to blush.

'Not for reasons like this. I disown you for your attitude, or because you're threatening to kill people, not, because someone doesn't like you.' A flash of amusement went through the bond.

'Tell me, how willing would you be to stay with me if your parents said no?'

'I think they'd understand and be glad I'm happy,' Harry replied instantly. He was sure they wouldn't accept it that easily, but he'd have at least tried and probably been disowned trying.

The entered the kitchen, Draco and Ron sitting no where near each other, Hermione pacing around the table glaring up at the window every few seconds.

"Harry you should of told us! How could you not have told us something this important?" She turned to look at Mrs. Weasley who looked slightly shaken. "You're sure you haven't seen any owls, what so ever," she asked.

"Hermione dear, if I had seen any owls I'd have been sure to call you all down and hand them to you." Hermione nodded, but she seemed to have lost interest after 'Hermione dear' and was once again pacing.

To Harry's amusement he noticed there was no lunch being made at the moment and he took a seat at the table. Tom sat down beside him taking his hand.

'I think this may be a problem,' the heir said his gaze on their two friends. 'Even if they do break up, it would be good to keep them on talking terms.'

'Hopefully once we get back to Hogwarts all of this will be dealt with. Ron's mum won't be around and Ron will be sharing a bed with Draco in no time.'

"So once he dumps you, you're up for grabs right," Draco asked smirking at Harry. The boy looked at his friend as if he was nuts, but shrugged. Tom did not look happy at the question and even Ron muttered a quiet protest. Harry on the other hand had forgotten Tom's promise of breaking up with him should his grades be too low.

"Suppose I am," Harry joked, more to egg Ron along into giving Draco some attention than trying to get them all killed by his boyfriend. "I may be able to redeem myself if they aren't too bad," he offered and Tom just let out a long sigh.

"Did you tell him we shared a bed all summer?" Draco asked winning stunned looks from Ron, Tom, and Harry, while Mrs. Weasley looked once again, horrified.

"No, I didn't get around to telling him you were in a ghostly visage form and sleeping beside me since there was only one bed in the room," Harry said flatly. He couldn't believe Draco was actually bringing this stuff up, but he understood his friend's intent none of the less. 'He's trying to get Ron jealous,' Harry soothed his boyfriend through the link.

'He's going to get himself killed if he doesn't watch his tongue,' Tom said his eyes narrowed.

'Don't ruin his fun, what else does he have to do right now? Ron's not talking to him and Hermione's obsessed with looking for owls.'

"You'll have to pay me if you want him while we're still dating. I'm willing to rent him out," Tom said finally.

"Glad I'm rich," Draco muttered.

They all turned when they heard a loud snap and saw that Ron had completely broken the handle off the cup he'd been drinking from. His mother of course ran over with her wand out and fixed it.

"Really Ron," she scolded. "I'm sure you did just fine on your O.W.L.s, calm down."

"There here!" They all looked at the window then, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor the only thing audible between Hermione's shouts as she jumped up and down and pointing at the five owls flying towards the house. None of them could really believe it, at long last, they were finally going to find out the results they'd worked so hard to achieve. All those days given up for studying, the fights, everything, it all came down to the piece of paper these tawny owls were bringing in.

Mrs. Weasley quickly opened the window and all five owls flew in landing on the table holding their legs out to each student. All of them quickly removed the letters, the owls flying back out the window. No one wanted to be the first to open their letters though and so they stood there quiet looking at each other uneasily for a good minute or two.

"Fine, I'll go first," Tom, muttered ripping open the square letter. He smirked and placed the hard parchment paper on the table looking quite pleased with himself, O's next to every subject.

"Well that's because you already took all these classes before," Hermione screamed holding her letter defensively close to her chest. Ron sighed rolling her eyes at her, looked at his letter, and opened it. He scanned it before laying it flat on the table as Tom had.

"Five "Oustandings", six "Exceeds Expectations" and I got an "Acceptable" in Divination," Ron said nervously. He couldn't seem to believe the fact he'd achieved eleven O.W.L.S. just as Tom had, even if they weren't all Outstandings.

"How wonderful," Mrs. Weasley screamed throwing her arms around her son. "That's more than Fred and George could even get together! Oh your grades are almost as good as Charlie's or Bill's!" Ron was quickly turning a shade of crimson, not that his mother seemed to notice.

"Next," Tom instructed, as they seemed to be going counter clock wise around the table, meaning Harry would be last. He had a feeling Tom had done that on purpose, but decided he could enjoy being the heir's boyfriend for at least a few more minutes, before Tom stormed out and never spoke to him again.

"Six "Outstandings, the rest are "Exceeds Expectation," Draco said quietly. He put the paper down next to Ron's, who in his joy tackled Draco to floor causing Mrs. Weasley to gasp.

"Ronald Weasley!" His mother tried to get over to the two boys, but couldn't make her way around the table regardless of the others trying to allow her passage.

"You did great! You thought you were going to be kicked out of Hogwarts for sure," Ron laughed the two of them wrestling as Draco tried to get back into his seat.

"And they thought we were bad," Tom muttered looking to Hermione. "Well?"

"Well…I mean…Harry could…oh!" She tore open the letter and laid it flat on the table without even looking at it, her eyes closed shut tightly. "What does it say?"

"It looks exactly like mine," Tom said in an amused tone. Hermione's eyes shot open and she let out another loud scream hugging it.

"All eleven are "Oustanding"! I have to write mum and dad," she yelled running up the stairs, nearly colliding into them as she did. "OH AND KRUM!"

"Think she'll die before she makes it to the room," Draco asked. Tom and Harry looked at him, both doing their best to hold back their laughter as Draco's usually smoothed back hair was now extremely ruffled and pushed to odd sides, Ron beside him had a bruise forming under his left eye, but he was grinning.

"Well Tom, I have to say this before I do open mine…It was great seeing you last night." He opened the letter before Tom could protest and looked at it. He blinked remaining silent and shoved it back into the letter.

"Harry," Tom warned, but he refused to answer him, instead getting to his feet, or started to anyway. He didn't see the point in going any farther after Tom had successfully managed to remove his letter from his hand in one quick movement and began reading it. "Ten outstandings, and an exceeds expectations," Tom smirked handing the letter back to his boyfriend. "Looks like you're still alone this year Draco."

"Don't remind me," the Slytherin said.

"I have to tell Sirius," Harry said getting to his feet. To his surprise not only did Tom followed him upstairs to his room, but Draco as well. Ron seemed to be stuck downstairs with his mother, so Draco just shut the door behind himself and sat down on the empty bed.

"He's just being a prat, he'll get over it," Harry said as he tied the letter to Hedwig. "Hey, I need you to take this somewhere for me. Take it to Sirius okay?" Hedwig gave a small hoot before flying out the window. "Did he really not want you to sleep in the same room?"

"Yeah. His mum came up asking me why I was sitting on the floor and yelled at him for being rude. They're moving my stuff to the second floor later."

"I don't know what to say," Harry admitted. If he wasn't so desperate for alone time with Tom, he'd have suggested the other Slytherin stay in their room, but that wasn't a good idea with out much making out Harry and his boyfriend had to catch up on.

"I thought he'd be glad to see me after being at your house all summer," Draco said. "I guess that's what you get for trusting a Weasley. He is a Gryffindor after all, not a Hufflepuff."

"Even Hufflepuffs can be backstabbers," Tom pointed out and an image of Cho went through Harry's mind.

"I don't think it'll last. He just jumped you in the kitchen," Harry reminded the two. "I think he's just really nervous about what his mum and dad thinks so he's being cautious. Give him a few days," Harry suggested. After all, if there was one thing Harry had come to know about his best friend, it was that he needed more physical contact with his boyfriend than Harry ever needed with his own.

The friends sat there in silence then when they heard a loud noise from downstairs. They looked at each other unsure if they should even bother to check it out when they heard the voices.

"You can't just walk into their house! At least- I'm so sorry about this Molly- knock you're duff!" Harry instantly recognized the voice as Lupin's and couldn't help grinning.

"Belt up Remus, where is he? Ten "Outstandings" and an "Exceeds Expectation," Sirius roared loudly. "I told him last night he had Lily's brains!"

Harry blushed; he hadn't expected Sirius to come running to congratulate him, more like a letter in return. Then Harry was locked in a kiss with his boyfriend, one he was enjoying quite a bit until they heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. They didn't have time to break apart though and were caught by both Sirius and Lupin in mid attempt of putting a littledistance between themselves. Sirius looked utterly shocked and had gone pale; Remus ignoring him walked passed his boyfriend and grinned at Harry ruffling his hair.

"Great job Harry, I haven't seen grades like this in a while. We're both proud of you, and I'm sure he'll say it once he can talk again," he added on seeing the look on Sirius' face. "What'd you get Tom?"

'Why is it that everyone knows you by your first real name now?'

'Long story short, Dumbledore,' he replied quickly. 'It's only the order members though.'

"All "Outstandings," he said and Lupin's grin widened.

"Helped Harry study didn't you? I knew he couldn't have got that potions grade alone." Harry's face turned red and he looked away, regardless of the truth behind those words. "Seriously, you two could look into any career you want with those kinds of grades, if you keep them up."

"I want to be an Auror," Harry said quickly and nearly slammed his head into the wall to punish himself for saying it. He reminded himself he wasn't a house elf and refused to look Tom in the eyes keeping focused on the two older wizards. "That way there's at least one less corrupted person there…"

"That's great, James wanted to work at Gringotts I think," Lupin said muttering more to himself than anyone else. He looked to Sirius then. "Didn't he want to help add traps to the vaults and tame the dragons?"

"At some point, Auror was on his list too, but he really liked the idea of taming the dragons down there," Sirius finally said his voice back. He seemed to be looking at the two boys, sighed in a defeated tone and held his hand out to Harry. "Good job." Harry stared at him.

"Umm…Thanks…" The Gryffindor said uneasily as he looked down at his godfathers' hand before holding his own out nervously to take it. At that Remus slammed his own hand into the back of Sirius' head. Sirius glared back at his boyfriend, but leaned forward and hugged Harry, Tom watching from beside him.

"That's better," Remus scolded him. "I can't believe you, really. Just accept the fact he's as deranged as you are and he's fallen for Tom. They're not going to break up anytime soon, I told you of Harry's plan. Dumbledore accepts them…gods why am I even trying to explain this to you. You have two godsons now, get over it," he said the last sentence so sternly that Harry wondered if Lupin was trying to tame his godfather in some way.

"I'm not actually a dog you know," Sirius growled up at the other wizard. He'd let go of Harry so he could and glare at his boyfriend in the eyes.

"I'm the wolf in this relationship and as much as I love you I won't see you hurting Harry, because you have a grudge against his boyfriend. Hagrid accepted them, so you can too." Without even bothering to allow Sirius a word he walked back down the stairs enraged, where Harry could hear him talking with Mrs. Weasley, mostly to ask if he could have some tea for his nerves.

"Another awkward situation huh," he asked Harry trying to grin, but the Gryffindor wasn't sure what to say to his godfather. He looked at Tom who was just sitting there looking completely lost and Draco who was just staring out the window silently.

"Look…Sirius I really do love you…you're like the father I never had, but…Lupin's right…I'm not giving Tom up…" His godfather made an odd noise that Harry had never heard before, but didn't move.

"Yeah…I know. After you went and saved him, even though he tried to kill you last Christmas, I knew." He looked away then obviously not wanting to face Harry. "I just couldn't see you, Jame's kid, being as screwed up as me, not with him and Lily as your parents…"

"I'm not screwed up," Harry said bitterly and Sirius looked back at him. "And neither are you. Do you think it's wrong when you lie down in bed and you're holding Lupin," Harry asked. Both of them were now blushing horribly, Harry couldn't believe he had even asked such a personal question, but it had gotten the point across.

"No," he admitted his face turning even more scarlet.

"Exactly, so we're clear here," he finished wanting this conversation to end as quickly as possible.

"So…you all studied hard and got eleven O.W.L.S each huh…" Sirius too seem to want the topic changed as well.

"Yeah…we did. Thanks to Hermione and Tom we all managed to get eleven of them…doesn't seem real," he muttered.

"You're going to get loaded with gifts again," Sirius said suddenly starting to laugh. "There's no way we can't get you something after pulling grades like that…Him too," he jerked his thumb at Tom who glared at him.

"I'm not a him, you'll either call me Tom, Aderse, or your lord if you don't watch it," he hissed. Sirius death glared him, Harry groaning.

Eventually the two of them left, Lupin dragging Sirius off muttering things about work they had to do for the order, Sirius trying everything from flattery to down right demanding to be left behind, he was taken within five minutes, Lupin threatening to call Dumbledore if he didn't follow.

"He tires me out sometimes. I didn't think he was this hyper…he always looked so dead," Harry said as they all sat in the living room in different chairs, besides Tom who'd climbed into Harry's. The Gryffindor was resting his head on Tom's shoulder his eyes closed, glasses removed and on the side table curtsey of his supposed lovingly boyfriend who he was beginning to think hated seeing him with his glasses on.

"Well I think he's just getting started, because this is his first week in full health since getting out of Voldemort's clutches," Tom sighed after Harry let out a small groan.

"I can't believe this…oh well. Tom, you never told me how you got back here and why Dumbledore wouldn't let you come to the Dursleys…or about your hand…" Harry felt a jolt of fear go through the bond, but when he looked up, he saw Mrs. Weasley handing out cookies to everyone. He took his head off Tom's shoulder yawning. "Thanks Mrs. Weasley." He took three of the cookies and bit into one, good as always.

"Yeah, thanks Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. She said 'You're welcome' to everyone and left the room. "Oh Tom, I've been meaning to ask you. Will you be continuing to take Ancient Runes this year?"

"It's useful," Tom said playing with the cookie in his hand. "I will stay with it."

"Oh good. Most of the people I've talked to didn't make it into the class or refuse to go on. They said they had their OWL in the class and that was that."

"Fools."

Harry rolled his eyes then, but was glad that Hermione and Tom had a class together. It would give him some free time to spend with Draco and Ron during the school year.

"So…now what. We have a month and a few days before we head back to school…what's on our to do list?" Harry asked looking around the room. It felt so warm and welcoming now that they were all back together relaxing quietly. It didn't seem real as only two days ago Harry and Draco had been trapped with the Dursleys and yet now they were free and at peace.

"Once we make it to Diagon and get our supplies you'll be studying," Tom said ignoring Ron's protests and taking another bite of the cookie he had.

"Alright so studying till we die, that's another three weeks, what about the other two," he asked innocently.

"We'll be drawing up plans on how to keep you out of trouble, kill Voldemort, and to keep Draco away from Voldemort. At some point I'm sure we'll have to actually go to Diagon…" Harry sighed, his boyfriend had completely forgotten about his birthday and he nodded.

"Yeah, it's not fun to keep him under the invisibility cloak all year, how about you take what's left of the potion with," Harry asked. Draco nodded and so that problem was at least somewhat cleared up. "Okay, one thing down. We have to find a way into Draco's vault though…"

"I have a key," Malfoy cut in. "It's in my trunk."

"Alright, never mind then," Harry laughed. "So that more or less leaves us thirteen days-"

"Twelve," Tom corrected him. "Lupin, that crazy godfather of yours, and Tonks are coming over for dinner this weekend."

"Oh yeah." Though Harry had been the one to hear it, Tom merely reading it through their mental link, he'd completely forgotten. They kept on talking then, all of them posing ideas of what they could do with their free time until they were once again forced into school mode where they knew they'd once again be driven insane with homework.

**(X)**

"Having issues sleeping?" Draco jerked around and let out a small sigh when he saw that it was just Tom standing near the door of Percy's room. He dropped his arms to his side walking over to him and they both proceeded down the stairs and into the living room. "What's wrong? You weren't sitting in front of that door for for nothing."

"It just feels odd being in there with Weasley, but in separate beds," he muttered quietly. "I'm so used to having someone beside me, between the Gryffindor dorms and then in a ghost form next to Harry at that blasted muggle's house…" He closed his eyes sighing. "Your boyfriend is a handful, might I add."

"Oh I'm quite aware. At least Ron allowed you stay in his room," he said.

"I had to threaten to leave," Draco said staring up at Tom then from his chair. "I told him I would go home and never talk to him again, only way he let me stay in there."

Tom raised an eyebrow at this anger starting to surface within him. Draco was the only real friend he had, the only person who'd been helping him out from the beginning of this crazy thing he called a life.

"Would you like me to step in?" the heir asked quietly.

"Perhaps if you helped me tie him up?" Draco asked a smirk forming on his features.

"Of course," Tom agreed. It wouldn't be the first or last time he'd tie someone up and besides. Tying someone like Weasly up was such an easy feat it would almost sad to do it. "So now that we've gotten that out of the way, Harry's birthday and Diagon Alley will be our biggest problems."

"So you do remember," Draco snickered, Tom looked at him. "You didn't see the look on his face? He thought you forgot."

"I didn't forget and I didn't forget yours either. You are, I am sure, aware of his surprise party? I couldn't ruin the surprise." He looked offended though and slightly worried as he eyed the staircase.

"After he has his birthday it'll be fine," Draco assured him. "He forgives you easily, he's been deprived himself…and you were the one trying to contact him over the summer, right?"

"Yeah. It didn't work to well, he told me he heard me though…didn't want him thinking he was hearing voices." Tom leaned back in the chair sighing. "His godfather on the other hand..."

"I wouldn't even talk about it," Draco said snickering. "He'll never forgive you if you harm Sirius."

"I know," Tom sighed. "All to well."

**TBC**

Well there's the next udpate. I'm glad I was able to get through it; I'm surprised everyone hasn't gone deaf yet with all the screaming, especially from Hermione who seemed to have vanished after the o.w.l. scene…she was there when they were eating cookies. I can finally get more into the birthday and them going to Diagon alley that'll be fun…::laughs evilly:: Enjoy.


	7. A Birthday Ritual

Sorry about how long this update took.

**Warnings: **It's shonen ai. Harry/ Tom, Draco/ Ron, Sirius / Remus

**Notes: (X) **Is pov and or time jump, this is a sequel

Chapter, 7: A Birthday Ritual

It wasn't so dark Harry realized since he could see down the hall. Dark enough to need some sort of light, but there was enough from a room farther down said hall so he could safely make it there wouldn't colliding into something. He walked towards the light wondering who could possibly be up at this hour. Even more disturbing to him was that the door was open in the first place. Most of the residents at the Burrow kept their doors shut during the night so as not to disturb anyone else.

It wasn't the most unusual thing though, so Harry kept moving forward to see what it was that was going on. He stopped at the edge of the door so he could peer into it and suddenly found himself in complete darkness. The light in the room had gone out, there was no sign of anything and when he went to grab onto the wall for support it was gone. He turned around, not that, that did any good, the darkness was so complete it was dizzying.

He took a step forward hoping he had merely miscalculated the distance from the doorway to the wall, but there was nothing.

"Tom!" He screamed out only be answered with laughter. He couldn't discern, which direction it had come from and stupidly, he had left his wand back in the bedroom. 'I need your help!" He shouted through their bond desperately, but his mind slammed into the mental block instead.

"No one is coming to help you this time Potter. Too many people have been rewriting time for their own convenience." Harry recognized the voice as Voldemort's. "You've been abandoned. They will not stop me this time."

Harry knew then he had to be dreaming. Even so, when he felt the cold dead like fingers trace his scar on his forehead he screamed trying to pull away only to fall backwards and land on the floor. He still could see nothing, only hear the laughter and feel the cold chill that had seemed to infuse with his bones even though the finger was no longer touching him.

"You will not survive the end of this year," Voldemort promised.

(X)

And just like that, it was over. Harry was sitting in bed drenched in sweat as he always was when he woke up from a nightmare. He grabbed his glasses and let out a breath, it was already day light outside, even if it was a bit cloudy. He let himself drop back onto his pillow and felt from his boyfriend's hand only to come up empty. He should have known, Tom had been waking up before him the last few days and was never there when he got up.

"Happy Anniversary to you too," Harry muttered closing his eyes. Perhaps his boyfriend had simply snuck off to the bathroom? Not that, that had been the case the other days. No, his boyfriend had been doing his best to keep Draco's secret of tying Ron up every night. "Hope they get caught."

He stood up then going through his trunk, changed into some fresh clothes. He was about to head down into the kitchen when he heard the voices' of his friends yelling from upstairs.

"Hold him down, we'll put the cream on his wrists, we can't let his mother see!"

"I can't believe you two tied him up, again! Didn't either of you learn from the first time?"

"Not really."

Harry decided he wanted no part of this and walked back into the bedroom slipping under the invisibility cloak. He wasn't going to deal with the people who'd forgotten his birthday, worse his suppose loving boyfriend who'd forgotten their anniversary. Their first meeting had been so absolutely brilliant, how could he forget?

The Gryffindor told himself not to worry about it too much though. He wasn't going to give the others the satisfaction of knowing they were driving him mad. Let them figure it out on their own when they realized he was missing, if they did. The day before they had barely even said a word to Harry and would go into hush tones the second they spotted him.

"Well that's just fine," he said walking out of the Burrow's yard. Dumbledore had made him promise not to, but he was feeling daring now and sorry for himself. He felt like it would be everyone else's fault should he get harmed for leaving the yard, even if it was his own actions that led him there. Not that he expected to come into any trouble from sitting right outside the fence.

He sat down under the nearest tree, a mere couple of feet from the Burrow's entrance and stared up at the sky. It was still cloudy, a bit windy, but nothing to really worry about any time soon. It didn't look like it was going to start storming and he was sure some fresh air would do him some good.

(X)

"I can't believe they forgot…at least last year I got cards…and the anniversary…" He closed his eyes against the tears threatening to protrude. "He can't even remember the day we met and our bond is still blocked," he growled in frustration and slammed his fist into the ground near screaming.

He was currently still sitting in the field outside the Burrow's gate, outside the barrier that was supposed to be keeping him safe.

He sighed staring up at the sky, which now streaked with lightning every few seconds giving warning that the storm that'd been threatening to come for hours would soon be starting. Instead of getting up and running for cover though, he pulled the cloak more closely around him in response so the wind wouldn't take it. He wondered how long he'd been outside, but since Tom had so kindly blocked their link he had no way of telling.

"Why is he being so stubborn?"

"Well you see, Tom is much like his own boyfriend, and therefore quite stubborn." Harry jerked his head around and saw Dumbledore sitting comfortably next to him, his back against the tree as well. "Correct me if I'm wrong Harry, but don't muggles warn you, that it is dangerous to sit under a tree during a storm such as this?"

"Well…yes…" he muttered looking away even though Dumbledore couldn't see him. "I've been out here for awhile though, before it started raining, see Tom-" he cut himself off. Dumbledore hadn't sent him a card either. "Professor why are you even here?"

"That is a good question Harry, alas, I cannot tell you, for even I am not completely sure." The headmaster stood up then holding his hand out to Harry, who grabbed it when he took notice of it. Harry removed the cloak after he was standing and the two began their trek to the Burrow. "I do believe I asked you not to go putting yourself in danger's way, though it seems you have forgotten."

"No…" Harry admitted somewhat embarrassed. He didn't want to tell the headmaster that he'd purposely put himself in danger out of self pity.

"No?"

"I'm sorry Professor; I just wanted to spend my birthday with my friends, with Tom. Just the five of us joking around, having dinner together. Tom with me after the others had gone to their rooms…" He sighed.

"That sounds like a perfectly normal day," Dumbledore said happily. "One that I'm sure you've had many of already this week."

"Yeah I have, but not today and not the last three days. I keep waking up alone, I've only heard the other four today as I was sneaking out. They didn't even have breakfast with me and Tom blocked our link…I guess they're trying to avoid me."

"Gracious yes, I would think so," the headmaster said quickly to Harry's shock.

"Am I that bad of a person?" He tried to think of anything he could have done the past few days that would anger his friends, but could think of nothing. It was not until they were halfway into the yard that Harry stopped realization slowly dawning on him. "I think I know why they've been avoiding me professor," he said quietly.

"Do you now?" The headmaster stopped himself and turned to give Harry his full attention. "And what might that be," he asked smiling. Harry's reply was obviously not, what he'd expected though and instead of saying a word, he'd pushed his bangs back revealing his scar. "..Don't tell me they've been avoiding you since you told them about the prophecy," he asked his tone suddenly grave, his face grim.

"No, they were fine with that…it's just, I've been having these nightmares…again," he said slowly. He was standing in the darkness, no one to help him; even Tom was no longer standing by his side. Everyone, everything had abandoned him. "And when I wake up," he went on just as hesitantly, the cold dark laughter penetrating into his thoughts and suddenly a flash of green. "My scar is bleeding." He dropped his hand to his side. "I guess Tom saw it through our bond and freaked out."

"Harry, have you told anyone about this," Dumbledore demanded gripping both of Harry's shoulders tightly. Harry shook his head 'no'. He hadn't seen any reason as to why he should tell any of them. He would have mentioned it to Tom since the nightmares hadn't started until he'd arrived at the Burrow, but his boyfriend had not been in a talking mood that morning so why bother? If his boyfriend wanted to worry about Draco's annoying habit of tying Ron up over his own nightmares, why should he go out of his way to tell him?

"It's not like when Voldemort was trying to get into my head…really I can tell the difference, because when it's something like that, Tom always jumps in and drags me to the safest place." The words didn't seem to assure Dumbledore much at all and Harry wasn't sure he believed them anymore himself. He really just wanted to believe that if Voldemort was trying to enter his mind again that Tom would be there to protect him, but what if his boyfriend couldn't this time?

The headmaster nodded though and released Harry's shoulders. They said nothing to one another before Dumbledore let out a sigh and continued towards the Burrow.

"May I request Harry, that you harbor no ill feelings towards Tom, as I'm sure today is a very odd one for him?" Harry was about to ask him why, but upon seeing the look on Dumbledore's face, knew he wouldn't get an answer. Instead, he decided he'd wait until they were alone that night, if Tom ever came to bed, and would question his boyfriend there.

"So then…did the…did _they_ call you," he asked emphasizing they so Dumbledore would know he meant the order.

"No, I'm here of my own free will," Dumbledore replied.

"I really don't want to go back in," Harry muttered looking away. He was still pretty angry with everyone in the Burrow, not even Mrs. Weasley who was always so good at remembering dates had wished him a happy birthday. "I just wanted one person to remember…Tom and I share a mental bond…he reads my thoughts like books all the time! He could have at least remembered," Harry, screamed taking a step back. This step nearly cost him his life though as his back slammed into Hagrid and he nearly toppled head first into the ground.

"Well 'Arry, I can't get 'round you," Hagrid said in slight shock. "What in teh world are yeh doin out here anyway," the half giant asked, a flash of lightning going across the sky and the rain started to come down.

"I believe the best explanation to this act would be, a nervous break down," Dumbledore said in his usual amused tone. Harry and Hagrid both looked at him like he was nuts, both blinking, but he merely smiled all the more and took Harry by the arm. "Now then, come along, you two. Hagrid, we've people waiting."

"HARRY! Good gracious, you gave us all quite a scare! Albus thank god," Mrs. Weasley breathed a look of relief on her face. "I've been looking for you almost for an hour now! And you're all wet!" The minute they reached the door, she pulled out her wand and tapped all three wizards', all of them drying instantly to Harry's relief.

"That's nice, I've been outside since ten," he said quietly, but with a hint of annoyance. He walked passed Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley, both who looked shocked at his statement, and into the kitchen. He was nearly thrown to the ground by someone, Ron and Draco he found out a few seconds later, as he attempted to sit up and then Tom was standing in front of him smiling and holding his hand out to him. Harry grabbed it instantly being pulled into a tight hug by his boyfriend, his arms moving around his waist to pull him even closer.

"I've been Harry deprived," he whispered to him as if it was a warning. He then went on to prove his point by kissing Harry passionately before he pulled away leading a very shocked boy along with him. They arrived in the living room as he let go of Harry, who grabbed Tom by the arm and jerked him onto the floor with him. Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks came over, all three of them holding giant boxes, and placed them down onto the floor.

"You and Draco," Sirius laughed somewhat out of breath. Hagrid followed behind them a few seconds later with another big box that didn't seem small even though it was in Hagrid's arms.

"O.W.L. gifts," he grunted.

"Okay! We got both birthday boys, so let's start," Sirius screamed as loudly as he could. Lupin looked quite embarrassed by this, but had no real time to react as Tonks nearly jumped him. "I was going to tell Harry to open his first, favorites and all, but we're going by events, so Draco, O.W.L.S, then Harry, tons of cake, if we manage not to blow up by that time, dinner."

That said Hagrid and Lupin, who'd just escaped Tonk's tackle, began to remove the gifts out of the first box and handed them to Draco. It felt odd, as Harry had never been to anyone's birthday party, besides Dudley's, but he'd always been envious of those gifts. This was the first time he'd actually been to someone else's party and was thoroughly enjoying himself and being happy for the receiver.

"Seems like everyone went out of their way to make sure he'd feel welcome," Tom whispered.

"I'm glad," Harry replied honestly. "I bet even his parents couldn't have topped this." Tom made an odd noise, but nodded. The two of them sat there watching Draco happily, as he unwrapped the gifts. He'd obtained some new robes, Quidditch equipment, tons of potion ingredients, including Tom's gift of Dragon's blood and an extremely expensive looking advance potion set from Snape, that Harry swore he'd never touch. He'd also got a mass supply of potion books that, between Hermione, Lupin, and Tom, Harry got the odd feeling he'd be forced to read each one himself before the year was over.

"Happy," Tom asked Draco from across the room. When he nodded, the room burst into applause.

"O.W.L. Time," Sirius screamed at the same time. Sighing Lupin shoved Sirius away from the book and handed the gifts out himself.

"A few of these are fragile," he explained.

"Draco, Hermione," he handed the two of them very large book sets, one on Transfiguration the other on charms. "Harry, Ron," he grinned handing Harry a top-notch broomstick kit, Ron a new broomstick, a Firebolt 3000. "And Tom," he finished handing him a small black box.

"To go with the book," he asked turning to Dumbledore sounding annoyed. Dumbledore nodded. "Figures." He shoved the box into his pocket and began leaning on Harry again. Harry was going to ask what the book and box were about, but Lupin cut into his thoughts and he forget about it completely.

"And now for Harry's gifts," Lupin said happily. He took the gifts out of the last box and started handing them to said boy. Harry was of course very interested in them and once they were all laid out around him, quickly began opening them up. He too received a vast number of books along with a boggart he could keep in a small black case to practice on, a few new sets of robes and a lot of candy. When he noticed the last ones were from Tom, his grin widened and he pulled the box onto his lap.

"This isn't going to kill anyone right?"

"Of course not…well, it shouldn't." Grinning Harry ripped open the paper and stared in shock at the two items. A giant Qudditch book on game strategies and a huge comforter with a Quidditch player flying around on it. It looked very comfortable to Harry and he couldn't wait to get it onto his bed that night and sleep with it.

"You hate my playing quidditch," he laughed throwing his arms around Tom tightly. "Thanks, you have no idea how much I love this."

'You need to thank Snape as well; I dragged him into the shop with me.' Harry's grin somehow grew even more and he quickly pulled the comforter up to hide his laughter from everyone else in the room.

Regardless of the attitudes Sirius and Tom usually shown one another, they managed to team up and bring the cakes out early as Sirius had promised, regardless of Mrs. Weasley's attempts at trying to stop them. Both grinning evilly they came to the table quickly putting the cakes down, and then rushing off to hide behind their respective boyfriends. Harry was now looking down at a cake with an icing figure of himself on a broomstick flying around a quidditch field, his name clearly written with different balls from the game, flying in different directions at random before regrouping to form his name again. He had no idea how anyone could make a cake so appealing, but when he looked over and saw Snape standing beside Draco, a icing figure of the Slytherin standing next to a cauldron and a broomstick of his own in hand, he knew someone had done a great job.

Harry wanted none of it to end and it surely did seem like time had slowed down just for the parties. He looked around the room smiling, Luna talking to Lupin and Hermione about things, no doubt driving Hermione mad, while Mrs. Weasley scolded Sirius again and again for bringing the cake out. Ron had all, but ran for the door the first chance he got with his new broom, regardless of the storm pouring outside. It all just felt too good to be true. A flash of lightning brought Harry back to reality and he blinked a few times before noticing that his godfather was sitting beside him grinning.

"Having fun," he asked happily.

"Loads. This is the best birthday I've ever had," he grinned back, which was definitely the truth. He'd never dreamed of having this kind of a birthday, never thought they could be this fun. Now that he had a taste of it, he hoped he could celebrate Tom's birthday and all of his friend's for that matter this way.

**(X)**

"You didn't tell him." The words were a statement and so all Dumbledore could do was merely shrug, his piece of cake still in his hand.

"He didn't ask," the headmaster replied, but Tom wasn't so sure. Harry was a curious person by nature and anything that stood in his way of knowing why someone would be depressed or not was surely something he'd demand answers to.

"He didn't ask or you didn't tell him," he asked cautiously, his tone clearly showing he felt threatened. Dumbledore sighed and placed his cake down on the bench. Tom had led them to the back room of the Burrow where they could see the storm quite well since it was enclosed with glass, mostly for Ron's sake in case he was struck by lightning as much as so they could have this talk. "Well?"

"It looked like he was going to ask," Dumbledore admitted. "However he didn't, no doubt a sign of maturity."

"Or that your glare still works," Tom countered, but it only won him a smile from the headmaster. He sighed pacing a bit and then sat down on the bench, making a note not to sit in Dumbledore's cake. "I can't help the way I feel…I'm really happy that Harry lived another year and I get to see it…celebrate it with him…" He sighed again.

"You know Tom, Harry's biggest concern did not seem to lie in his birthday, but that today was your anniversary. He was truly hurt that you all ignored him. Surely you could have at least woken up with him." He picked his cake up before his student could harm it.

"I was trying to help Draco. He's been tying Ron up so he can't run off and make him sleep alone. We have to put the healing cream on him though so no one realizes what we're doing." He started laughing slightly when he realized the words that had just left his mouth. "We really need to think of a new way."

"Yes…Tom have you noticed Harry having any dreams like before? Has Voldemort been attempting to enter his mind again," he asked suddenly and Tom was instantly back on guard. He turned to face the older man, determination flaring up in his eyes.

"Of course not, what makes you think that," he demanded with a low hiss.

"Now, now, there's no need to talk in snake, you'll scare the children," he laughed. "Just please alert me if he has any such problems." Tom nodded, but he still didn't trust the headmaster's words. Obviously him and Harry had, had some kind of talk on their way back to the Burrow, something neither of them seemed willing to tell him about.

"Do you think he'll leave once he finds out the truth," he asked suddenly leaning back in the chair. A silence fell around them for a while, both of them merely watching the lightning and raindrops falling without mercy.

"No," Dumbledore said finally. "No, Tom. I believe Harry would rather die than abandon you, and I've the feeling you feel the same."

"Interesting how we'd all like to die for one another," Tom growled. "Hasn't anyone ever tried staying alive and keeping your loved one alive in the first place to avoid deaths?" Dumbledore merely laughed.

**(X)**

Harry stretched standing up and then looked around for his boyfriend, which had been the reason he'd excused himself from the group of people he had been talking to in the first place. It seemed odd to him that Tom was missing once again from his side when today was their anniversary and decided he'd track him down and find out what was going through his deranged head.

He tried to use the mental bond they shared to find out Tom's location, but the only image he managed to acquire was of the lightning flashing before the windows in the Burrow's back room and so he went to try his luck there. Upon arriving in the area though, the only person he found was Dumbledore, who was sitting there happily eating his cake.

"Umm…Professor," he asked nervously. Dumbledore looked up at him grinning. He set the piece of cake down and patted the seat beside him. Harry who wanted to find Tom as soon as possible was slow to agree, but finally walked over to him and took a seat. "I was looking for Tom," he said quietly.

"Yes, Tom was just in here actually. Ran for the stairs when he saw you trying to pry his location out." It sounded to Harry like the headmaster was very amused, even though Harry wasn't. He wanted Tom here and now, not later when they'd surely not be able to talk privately or worse, he would refuse to even speak to Harry again for some unknown reason. Sighing Harry turned to look at the headmaster.

"Professor is Tom trying to avoid me," he asked bluntly. With all the weird actions Tom seemed to be doing lately, he honestly wouldn't be shocked if that was the case. "I understand if he doesn't like that dream…I don't either, but to out right…blow me off," he sighed again closing his eyes.

"Harry, Tom spent his entire summer thus far, at least until he was able to reunite with you, utterly miserable. He truly adores you Harry; however, some things are just left better alone for now. Why don't you instead just attempt to give him comfort?"

Surprised at the words Harry nodded and found himself soon sneaking pass the party guests and to the stair case. Perhaps he had screwed up at some point,maybe his boyfriend had set something up that morning and he'd failed to search him out and join him. Harry thought the least his boyfriend could have done though was open the link and provoked him to the location.

"What are you doing in here," Harry asked when he'd finally gotten the door unjammed and gotten inside. Tom was leaning against the wall his head turned from him, arms crossed and leaning on the window sill. When a flash of lightning appeared it looked to Harry as if Tom was crying. To his horror, he did see a few tears slide down his lover's cheek after the silence and he walked towards him quickly. "Tom, what's wrong? I can't help you if you don't tell me. Are you still hurt from your body reforming? Did something break? Did Sirius say something to you?" he asked somewhat irritated now. If his godfather had done anything at all to harm his boyfriend...

"Jeeze you're more innocent than you should be," Tom laughed, but his voice cracked halfway through it and he instantly silenced himself.

"Tom, what are you talking about?" He hesitantly grabbed his boyfriend's hand and when he didn't pull away, he led him to the bed so they could both sit down. He wrapped his arms around him, Tom's head going to his shoulder, his eyes closed.

"Dumbledore never told you…I guess that's a good thing….can we stay here a bit," he asked catching Harry off guard once again.

"Yeah, sure…I don't mind. It's kind of noisy down there anyway." He closed his eyes himself sighing as he listened to Tom's breathing and the rain outside.

"Sorry I'm ruining your birthday…"

"You're not. You're here with me; it's more than anything I could ever hope for." Tom made a small snorting noise, but said nothing.

They managed to stay in the bedroom a long time, which Harry was sure had to do with Dumbledore. The headmaster had no doubt told the others to give them some alone time, as he must have known what was going on. His hand instinctively went through Tom's hair stroking it gently, the move relaxing both of them. He couldn't even begin to think of why Tom would be crying or acting like this, but he was and the thought completely terrified him. He wasn't used to comforting Tom or trying to get him calm to down, he was used to Tom sneaking into his bed and calming him down.

"And you think I'm a handful," Harry snickered quietly. He could tell from the breathing and the drop of the mental barrier that Tom was fast asleep, but he had no intentions of trying to read the boy's mind. Instead, he just smiled and went on trying to repeat the many actions Tom had used on him when he'd needed some comfort.

**(X)**

It seemed like an eternity, but the two finally woke up, changed and climbed back into the bed. Harry spotted the comforter that Tom had gotten him at the foot of the bed and grabbed it.

"Today's been one of the best days of my life…so many people and…the cakes…being with you." He grinned brightly at the Slytherin who rolled his eyes at him and proceeded to finish changing into his pajamas. Fully changed he walked over to the bed Harry was sprawled out on and climbed onto it kissing him gently.

"Harry Birthday, sorry I wasn't here for you this morning." The words took a few minutes to register in Harry's mind, but when they finally did, he threw his arms around his boyfriend tackling him onto his back.

"You're here now, that's all that matters." He instantly moved his arms so Tom could get the pillow under his head, and then moved his own head onto Tom's chest. He sighed contently, his whole body relaxing as he closed his eyes, until there was suddenly an odd smell coming directly from under his nose. He opened his eyes to see what was there and nearly inhaled the rose from his sharp intake of breath while gasping. "T, Tom! You…" He started laughing again and grabbed it. "You remembered our anniversary."

"How could I possible forget the first day I got out of that necklace," he asked sounding slightly hurt. Harry didn't have time to deal with that though, instead he got off his boyfriend running out the door as fast as he could. He came back about a minute later, Tom having sat up looking like he'd been completely abandoned and abused from Harry's sudden departure. Grinning he shoved the cage into his boyfriend's hands.

"Happy anniversary," he screamed happily. Tom just stared at the cage and blinked.

"What am I going to do with an owl? Do I really need one?" The heir asked unsure.

"Well, Ron, Draco, and I all have owls…I love Hedwig, and I got you a male owl…he should keep you company while I'm taking the private lessons from Dumbledore."

"Do you actually think I'd let you in that room with him alone," Tom growled. He set the cage, owl and all onto the nightstand, the owl starting to shriek in protest. Both boys turned to look at it in shock. "What the bloody hell does it want?" Harry shrugged quickly handing the cage back to Tom the owl instantly stopped hooting. "…"

"I think it wants you to name him….or maybe he wants outside…try to put him outside," he said coughing. Scowling Tom got off the bed walking over to the window, opened it, regardless of the storm, and opened the cage.

"You're now called IT, get out," he growled. The owl let out one loud screech before jumping out of the cage and onto Tom's head pecking him without mercy. "HARRY!" Said boy jumped off the bed quickly laughing all the way, and quickly pulled the owl off him.

"Give him a decent name," he said between his laughs, the owl was still trying to get at the heir.

"Fine a decent name…Basilisk." Harry shrugged, but the owl seemed to calm down and the minute he relaxed his grip, Basilisk jerked out of his hands jumping onto Tom's shoulder and sinking its talon's into him. "…Harry you just love creating death wishes for yourself don't you?" Harry let out a small laugh, but said nothing as he backed away from his boyfriend slowly towards the bed.

Growling Tom jerked Basilisk off his shoulder, threw him out the window and shut it. There was a loud cracking noise, the bird had obviously tried to get back in and he walked back over to the bed.

"Tom," Harry scolded and he quickly ran over to the window letting the owl in. He grabbed the cage, set it down beside Hedwig's and opened the door. "Come on Basilisk, get in here and go to sleep." The owl flew over instantly and jumped in. Grinning at Tom's scowl then, he walked back over to him. "Now…about that rose…"

"You noticed it wasn't normal," Tom grinned. He seemed to have completely forgotten the actions of the owl and was once again in a good mood. Harry nodded. "It lives as long as our relationship does…so you can keep it forever."

"Sounds better then the owl," Harry snickered.

**(X)**

"Oh please, you're useless and not only useless, you're disposable." The voice brought Harry out from the darkness looking around for the source. He squinted putting his glasses on and stepped forward; he still couldn't see much of anything due to the darkness. "Abandoned by everyone, your own family doesn't want you, despises you." He knew he'd heard the voice before, but it sounded more taunting than usual. He stepped towards it hoping to catch a glimpse at whom the person was speaking to. He looked around feeling for the doorknob and pulled it open instantly met with a cold breeze. Stepping out he turned and froze staring at the figure in front of him. "And now that I know what to do with you," he laughed, "I can kill you before you even wake up." Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it directly at Harry's forehead.

**(X)**

Harry jerked up looking around the room a cold sweat pouring down his entire body once again. He was shaken from the dream, realized the room he'd been in was this one, and nearly jumped off the bed in an attempt to find some source of light. When he'd finally managed to get the oil lamp on he sighed in relief looking around the room, Tom was missing, but there was no sign of Voldemort either. Sighing he lied there in silence for a moment until the cold laughter rang through his ears again.

'That wasn't a normal dream,' he thought to himself shakily. 'I need to find Tom…gods of all the time for him to leave me alone…' He turned the lamp off and walked out of the room as quickly as he could, to try to find his missing boyfriend. Between the dream and his bits of fear going through his mind he didn't notice where he was going and missed a step halfway down and instantly went crashing down it face first into the floor. Groaning he sat up, Tom and Draco suddenly by his side.

"What in the hell were you doing," Tom demanded. Harry looked at him shaking his head slowly and shrugged. He just needed to be near him, he hadn't realized his foot had missed the step or anything like that until he was on the floor. "Your scar's bleeding…why is your scar bleeding," he asked in the same tone. Harry merely shrugged again before Tom grabbed him and growling, dragged him into the kitchen.

"Wh, why were you downstairs," Harry asked stuttering, he hadn't even realized how scared he was of the nightmare until now. He closed his eyes attempting to calm himself and let out a slow controlled breath as Tom had shown him how to do many months before. "I mean…you weren't in bed...why…?"

"We fell asleep talking," Draco said walking into the kitchen. Harry turned to look at him just as Tom came back over and began applying the bruise and cut cream to his forehead. He felt a small stinging sensation before it was completely gone.

"I didn't know…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have freaked out so much." He got up quickly heading back to the stairs. "I'll see you guys in the morning," he muttered, just glad he hadn't woken up anyone else.

"Harry," Tom hissed after him. Harry ignored him though running into the room and then onto the bed. He didn't feel like dealing with Tom at the moment, rather he just wanted the bleeding to stop as it had somehow begun once more.

**TBC**

Alright everyone, I finally finished the next chapter. I once again apologize for how long it took, but I really needed to finish and study for those test in order to get into college. I passed with flying colors though so no worries. So…..go enjoy the update and yeah. I'm going to go start on the next chapter now.


	8. Troubled times

so I'm saying sorry now for lack of updates instead of later…though I'll probably end up doing both.

**Warnings: **This is shonen ai, gay, slash , Tom/Harry, Ron/Draco, Sirius/Lupin get over it!

**Notes: (X) **is pov and or time jump and this is a sequel.

Chapter, 8: Troubled times

The sound of Tom's footsteps quickly echoed through the house and Harry rushed to lock the door only to be shoved back as Tom came crashing in. He slammed the door shut as Harry hit the floor and closed the distance between them as Harry did his best to back away until his back met with the bed. He tried to look for some kind of escape route, but with none in sight, he swallowed hard, his hands gripping the bed frame behind him tightly.

"To, To-" his voice was cut off as Tom caught Harry's wrist, kissing him deeply. He showed Harry no mercy until he started to react, his arms going around Tom's waist. At this point Tom relaxed himself, one hand keeping hold of Harry's wrist, the other going to his bangs.

"Are you going to explain to me what's going on, or will I be forced to get the reason myself," he demanded. Harry looked away quickly, but he knew he couldn't, no rather he didn't want to hide it. He'd gone down stairs in an attempt to find his boyfriend and explain to him the nightmares anyway, the only reason he hadn't was out of a stupid feeling of jealously. He closed his eyes and pulled Tom toward the bed so he could sit down on then tried to find a good way to explain the dream, but ended up staring dumbly at his boyfriend instead.

"Dumbledore told me to watch out for you having any odd dreams, so spill it."

"Alright, let me try and figure this out so I can…it's not the easiest of things to explain." After going over it in his mind, a few more times he gave up and opened up his side of the mental bond. "Just read…watch, whatever it is you do." He closed his eyes then resting his head on Tom's shoulder. He felt Tom's spirit start protruding into his own, doing his best to remain as calm as he could given how shaken he was.

"You've been having these nightmares since you got here," Tom snapped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because…I thought that was the reason you were all avoiding me." He sighed glad he couldn't see his boyfriend's face. He'd been waking up from these dreams about a week or so now, his boyfriend usually missing from the bed when this happened. "I know, I should have told you…but it always seemed to happen when you were gone, I just thought since I couldn't feel you in the bed..."

"Yes, you should have told me. Dumbledore has us both under strict orders to let him know about any kind of nightmares." He moved his hand up to Harry's scar and began stroking it gently. "The cream isn't quite working on it either."

"I usually just let it bleed until it stops. I had no idea it wouldn't work," he said slowly. The fact that a healing ointment wasn't able to do its job on an attack from a dream did not settle well with Harry. In fact, it made him that much more nervous since Voldemort was claiming he had found a way to destroy Harry.

"We're going to have to tell Dumbledore," Tom said pulling Harry down onto the bed and holding him close. "He might know what to do about this."

"I'm not taking any more lessons with Snape," Harry said sternly. "He didn't help me at all. I think he wanted Voldemort to get into my head."

"Snape is not that kind of person." The heir said kissing Harry gently on the cheek and started playing with his hair. "He is deviant, but he would never put you in harms way."

"You don't know Snape like I do. His soul purpose in life used to be to see me in detention. I swear him and Draco used to sit down at night to try and figure out how to get me expelled." Tom snickered at that, but didn't say anything. Harry could tell from the bond though that he still didn't agree with him. "Hey...why do you keep closing your side of the bond anyway? You know I don't spend my free time reading your mind like you do mine."

"It hurts," the heir explained. "While it isn't a physical part of my body, it can send and receive physical sensations. It hasn't properly healed yet. That's why I couldn't find you at Hogwarts." Hearing that made Harry feel a lot better. His boyfriend was not trying to hide things from him or not trust him, he was just in the middle of healing. Smiling, the Gryffindor sat up and kissed Tom on the lips.

"Does everything else hurt?" he asked running a hand across the heir's chest. "I mean, your whole body broke apart."

"Are you hinting at something?" the heir asked raising an eyebrow. "I am more than willing to endure some pain." To prove his commitment he wrapped an arm around Harry's neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

Harry had, had no intentions of doing such an act, especially in the Weasley's house, in a bed that wasn't even his own. He told himself they could just wash the sheets themselves though when everyone else was asleep and returned the kiss.

**(X)**

Harry yawned staring down at his breakfast. Even though he hadn't had any nightmares the rest of the night he hadn't been able to really get back to sleep after Tom and his actions. Tom of course had fallen asleep after wards and even Harry had drifted off for an hour or two, but nothing more.

"You okay," Ron asked from across the table. He was eyeing Harry oddly, which actually amused him, because for punishment for sneaking out of the house with his new broom the night before and getting struck by lightning, his mother had refused to regrow his singed hair.

"Fi, fine," he said holding back his laughter. "Just…had a long night is all," he said yawning again.

"With Tom," he asked grinning as he leaned closer to Harry.

"No, bad dream," the Gryffindor said not wanting to offend his friend. The smile instantly dropped from Ron's face and he looked nervous. "Not like last year," he said quickly doing his best to assure Ron it wasn't Voldemort entering into his mind again. He wished he could assure himself too, but there would be no answers until Tom and him wrote Dumbledore and got a reply.

"Oh, ri, right," he said nervously, but Harry could tell he hadn't convinced him any more then he had himself. "So…want to practice Qudditch after breakfast?" Glad for the subject change he agreed quickly. They both finished their breakfast and were about to make their way out the door when they saw the owls fly in holding their supply lists for school.

"Odd," Tom muttered putting his list down on the table, his eyes remaining focused on it, causing Harry to look up. Of course, with Tom thinking something was wrong, Harry was quick to walk up behind him and look over his shoulder down at the list.

"Oh no…" Harry's tone caught everyone's attention and Ron, Hermione, and Draco were suddenly beside Tom and himself.

"Harry' what's…" Hermione's voice trailed off and she walked off laughing.

"NO! NO! I WILL NOT! I REFUSE," Ron, screamed backing away from the list in horror. Once again on their school list were the dreaded words 'Dress Robes'. "I won't wear those things ever again!"

"We'll buy you a new pair, I promise," Harry said quickly grabbing onto Ron's arm. Ron looked as though he was going to start hyperventilating, but Draco walked over to him just in time and slapped him.

"Get a hold of yourself," he growled loudly. Ron stared at him dumbly and nodded slowly. "Good."

'Are dress robes that horrible looking these days,' Tom mentally asked curiously.

'Only Ron's,' Harry replied in a highly amused tone.

"Oh look," Tom smirked picking up Harry's badge. On it were the words "Team Captain," printed nicely across it.

"Oh…wow, I didn't expect this," Harry laughed. This was the first badge he'd ever received and to say he was thrilled to finally have one was an understatement.

"That means you're my captain," Ron screamed, all traces of the dress robes seemed to have left from the red head's mind. He and Ron instantly went into a conversation about Qudditch and the teammates they may have this year.

**(X)**

Having agreed to play Qudditch with Ron, the two walked out, both holding their broomsticks tightly. The sun was finally shining again and Harry felt extremely happy to just be at the Burrow again with his friends talking to him. He was glad all the secrecy had been for a birthday party and not, because of the nightmares he was having again, not that anyone besides Tom and Dumbledore knew and he intended to keep it that way.

"Hey Ron, how are things between you and Draco?" The question seemed to catch his friend off guard, as he nearly dropped his broom, his face beat red. He tried to laugh it off, but it didn't quite work the way he'd hoped it would and almost collided into his fence. "Ron?"

"Fine, just fine, what's not to love?" Grinning Harry leaned forward on his broomstick.

"I heard he was tying you to the bed." Ron's face grew even redder, but Harry's was as well as he looked away. "Is it…fun?" Harry couldn't believe the words had left his mouth, but they had. Neither of them could say anything to one another for a while and without warning they both started laughing.

"I can't believe you just asked me that," Ron said still laughing.

"Neither can I," he agreed, but the grin was still on his face.

They played the rest of that day, only stopping when it was time for lunch. The minute they finished their food they went straight back to practice. Harry was amazed at how well Ron was doing. He'd never seen his friend make so many goals before. He hoped Ron's skills lasted throughout the school year as well, not just the summer.

**(X)**

"They're having too much fun," Tom sighed stretching out on the bed. Draco and he, tired of listening to the talk about Quidditch had retreated to Harry and Tom's temporary room in attempts to keep their sanity. Tom knew Draco wanted to go and play with them, a Quidditch fan himself, but they'd agreed to let the two have some time alone so they could catch up some more. Even though they were talking almost every night, it wasn't the same as just being able to lazy around in a bedroom without having to worry what words came out of their mouth.

"Why can't they just talk at night like we do," Draco asked tiredly. Tom shrugged and sat up to look at the two flying around outside like the idiots they were. He watched Harry do a sudden dive, for the snitch no doubt, his heart fluttering with worry, before he turned away scowling.

"They seem to over enjoy sleep," Tom hissed in annoyance. He was annoyed rather at the feeling of worrying, not their playing. "I guess we just end up waiting for them, we usually do anyway."

"Yeah," Draco looked around the room, upon spotting Basilik he grinned. "Your owl?" Tom grunted. The cage had been locked shut, a towel thrown over it to cover most of it, and chains wrapped around it tightly. "He can't be that bad."

"Makes yours look like an angel," he growled turning his back to him.

"I heard we're going to Diagon Alley this weekend," Draco offered obviously as bored as Tom was. The Slytherin didn't really care about where they were going though, his attention instead focused on the rose he'd gotten Harry that was currently on his nightstand. "You're, what's that muggle term?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, you've fallen into a love potion," Draco laughed. Tom scowled, but he couldn't deny it. After all, he was clearly thinking about his boyfriend constantly and ways to make him happy.

"So help him if my grades fall," he screamed. This made Draco laugh even harder, which in response got him a pillow to the face. "I'm serious! How can I help him defeat Voldemort if I fail my own classes?"

"Love will find a way," Draco attempted in a singsong voice. Not use to doing this though, his voice cracked and they both began laughing. "So, now what are you going to do that he's captain? He'll be drawing up more plans and strategies for the games…"

"I'll take your approach and tie him to his bed. Shouldn't be too hard with the four posts…" They both started laughing again. They honestly had nothing to really talk about, that's what they did at night, and so being forced alone in a room like this was still annoying to Tom. Instead, they ended up throwing insults at one another at times stopping to watch the other two on their broomsticks, until finally dinner was ready.

Tom had thought about telling Draco more than a few times about the nightmares Harry was having, just for something new to say and to get the fellow Slytherin's opinion about it, but he never did. He found himself remembering how edgy everyone had gotten the year before when they knew Voldemort was trying to get into Harry's head and didn't want to put his boyfriend through all that again.

**(X)**

Harry and Ron walked in laughing, both drenched in sweat from the constant training. Harry didn't mind though, he felt wonderful. He'd finally been able to talk to Ron alone without really having to worry about what he was saying and on top of that, he'd gotten to play Quidditch without Tom yelling at him that it was a pointless game.

They were in a pretty good mood until Mrs. Weasley showed up and asked them to do the dreaded chore.

"I need you to degnome the garden," she told Ron when they were getting some water. "They've over taken the garden and all my other children are gone and...and," She sniffed at that as if she were going to burst into tears.

Harry didn't have the heart to tell her no, so finished his water quickly and excused himself to go outside. It's not like degnomeing the garden was hard or anything, annoying when they bit you, but not hard.

Ron came out a few minutes later muttering curses under his breath.

"Why do we get stuck doing this?"

"I think it's you," Harry laughed. "You'd be out here alone if I hadn't agreed to help." Harry knelt down onto the ground and found the first gnome he could, swung it around in circles and threw the leather potato head creature. The first time he'd done this, he had felt bad for the little creatures, but having been bit enough, he knew better.

"Probably," Ron agreed throwing his over the garden hedge himself. "Why can't Fred and George hire someone to do this?"

"Remember, it 'builds character'?" Harry asked repeating the older twins supposed words of wisdom from before. Ron just threw a clump of dirt at him though and grunted.

"I didn't say it was true," Harry said laughing. He grabbed another gnome and grinned at his friend. "Shall we see who can throw these things the farthest?"

"You're on," Ron said grinning back at him.

(X)

"Should we go help them?" Tom asked looking out the window. He'd noticed that his boyfriend had gone back outside and was kneeling in a garden doing something. They looked to be throwing rocks out of it.

"I'm not degnomeing a garden," Draco sneered. "That's a job for a house elf."

"That's what they're doing?" Tom had never had to de gnome anything in his life. Dumbledore didn't keep a garden and even if he had, it would have been at Hogwarts and taken care of by Professor Sprout. "What's it like?"

"How should I know? It looks dirty though," the Slytherin spat. "Let Weasley do it."

Tom was tempted to go down and help anyway, but decided Ron and him still deserved some bonding time.

"I guess the friends still need some alone time," he smirked at Draco. The other Slytherin nodded and they went back to their game of wizard's chess.

(X)

"Maybe we should try being professional players," Harry laughed. Ron nodded a grin on his face as they took their seats at the table waiting for the others to show up. When they did, the two were still talking lively about the training they'd just done and what they could possibly do later.

"Enjoying yourselves," Tom asked with a scowl. He sat down glaring at the two coldly the same look clearly printed on Draco's face. The grins instantly dropped off Ron and Harry's faces, both looking to one another before back at their boyfriends with a 'What'd we do' look.

"Innocent are we," Draco sneered taking his seat besides Tom. The two boys shrugged unsure of exactly what it was they could have possibly done. Harry tried as best he could to think about it and then, despite Tom's attempts at blocking the bond, managed to see to through it.

"No…no I believe I'm far from innocent," Harry sighed playfully. "I'll be honest, Tom, I've been cheating on you with Charlie." Tom choked on his glass of pumpkin juice and looked up at Harry a mix of shock and anger etched onto his face.

"Who's Charlie," he demanded his eyes blazing. Harry sighed, glaring at his boyfriend for the reaction about the obvious lie and while wanting to attack him, remained calm.

"It's Ron's older brother you git," he growled. Tom was out of his chair and started closing the distance between them quickly. "Tom…Charlie hasn't even been here this-" he cut himself off getting to his own feet running, Tom close at his heels.

'Open your eyes! Like I'd actually cheat on you!'

At these words Tom stopped. A flash of the rose went through his mind and the night they'd just spent together. He nodded slowly heading back to his seat, but when Harry was off guard and near the table he grabbed him by the wrist and kissed him.

'You dare to try my patient far too much,' he warned him his mouth going from Harry's to the boy's neck. 'Do not make me claim you in front of all these people.'

"You're going to get us in trouble," Harry said, not that he was really trying to get his boyfriend off of him. It felt too good for him to really protest, but they broke away just in time for the others to enter the kitchen. Bill, Ginny, Hermione, soon followed by Mrs. Weasley and Fleur, the last two carrying in all the food. They to took their seats, Bill returning a few moments later with a bunch of small bags.

"Harry, Tom, Hermione, Draco," he said each of their names as he placed the bags of money in front of them. "Put 'em up for tomorrow. Horrible trying to get money or anything out of Gringgots right now," he explained.

"Thanks," Harry said honestly. He had already heard the horror stories Bill had told them about Gringotts and was very relieved to know he wouldn't have to risk facing the place anytime soon.

"Where's mine," Ron asked looking completely left out.

"I gave it to mom," he said flatly. Ron looked away his face red.

**(X)**

"I wish they'd of let us keep the Aurors around," Mrs. Weasley whispered harshly to her husband. She was doing a bad job with the whispering part though as all six teens looked from one another upon hearing her words, Hermione and Ginny frowning. Harry was quite happy about this turn of event however and spent the rest of the ride to Diagon Alley in a state of excitement.

"HARRY! TOM!" They'd just climbed out of the car when Hagrid came walking over waving to them happily. "Yeh bones grow back," he asked Tom. The Slthyerin shot him a warning look, but Harry's curiosity was already sparked before Hagrid could attempt to pretend the words had never left his mouth.

"What? I know what happened," Harry glared at his boyfriend. "Stop acting like it's a secret."

"Of course you know." The heir said, but then he the shut the bond between them without a second thought. Harry death glared his boyfriend, angered that he kept closing the bond, which, every time he did it felt as if a bolt of pain shot through him.

"How nice," Harry muttered under his breath, but he was already hugging Hagrid tightly. "Glad to see you Hagrid."

"Yeah, they wanted to send o'bunch o Aurors, but Dumbledore said I was good enough." He puffed his chest out like he had the first time Harry had met him and gave into the urge to hug the gamekeeper again. Scowling Tom pulled his boyfriend off the half-giant and stopped, Harry in mid-drag.

"How do you get into Diagon from here?" Harry could tell he was not pleased at all about the lack of information on his part. Grinning he walked around his boyfriend and over to the door that led into the Leaky Cauldron and stepped inside. The others followed in after, none of the muggles even seeming to take notice of the group's sudden disappearance. The tavern seemed different to Harry somehow as he looked around to take in the view. What was once filled with tons of people was now next to deserted, save for the landowner, Tom and two witches in the back.

"Hey Tom," Hagrid and Mr. Weasley greeted in turn. This of coursed offended the Slytherin Tom, as the man who shared his first name was just an owner of a pub and nothing more. The man grunted back a greeting, but never removed his eyes from the mug he was cleaning.

"We've supplies to buy," Mrs. Weasley cut in and suddenly they were all being ushered towards the back door.

"Is it just me or does something feel different," Harry asked Draco quietly. Draco nodded in agreement and Ron kept shifting from one foot to the other. The only one who didn't seem nervous was as usual, Tom. Hagrid pushed pass them pulling his wand out and tapped the bricks. Harry had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things wrong. He knew Hagrid should have had a pink umbrella, not a wand and yet, no one was saying a word at all about it.

"Tom, what did you do," Harry demanded grabbing him by the arm. Tom blinked at him, it seemed not knowing what he was asking before he saw the bricks melting away and Hagrid.

"Oh, I guess since you're dating me your mind is more resistant now…"

"Tom…"

"I did exactly what you wanted to do, only in a slightly different manner," he grinned and walked in only to be stopped by Hagrid who almost made him jerk back, by having grabbed the collar of his robes. "HEY!"

"We have to stay together. Don't care how strong yeh are, bigger group means less chances of a fight."

"There you are." All the students quickly turned to see the new comer. "Dumbledore requested I help watch over Draco," Snape explained emotionlessly as he fixed his gaze on Tom. "And I dare say should I find myself in that broom store again…" He let his words hang in the air, but the threat was obvious.

"If we have to go in there, the shop may not be standing later," Tom hissed.

"Okay, so we'll split into two groups. Myself, Molly, and Ginny can go get the books, you all need new robes," Mr. Weasley said taking note of how much taller they'd all gotten. "And dress robes-"

"Which we all agreed to pitch in and buy Ron some new ones," Harry quickly said before Mr. Weasley could hand Ron's money to him. "It's his early birthday gift," He lied so Ron's family wouldn't take offense.

"Oh, how-" But Harry knew from experience how that sentence was going to end and so against his better judgment broke from the group running straight for Madame Maltin's, Ron in hand.

"You fool," Tom screamed going after him. This of course got everyone else following him and soon enough they were all in the store panting, an extremely annoyed Snape bringing up the rear. "Going…to kill you…"

"I think you need to catch your breath first," Harry laughed. Tom shot him a very evil looking glare, but Harry didn't mind. He walked over giving his boyfriend a quick kiss before moving over to the many different robes.

"What can I get for you," Madam Malkin asked walking out from behind some racks.

"Some of us need school robes and all of us need dress robes," Ron said. The woman's expression lightened a bit at this and she started laughing.

"That's a lot of robes…let me get your measurements, we'll do school robes first, what houses?"

"We're Gryffindor," Harry said pointing to Ron, Hermione, and himself. "And they're Slytherin." He pointed to Draco who was holding Tom back by his arms. Smiling nervously he looked back at the woman.

"Alright then! You can look for possible dress robes while I deal with these boys," she told Hermione happily. So Hermione got to walk off into the sea of robes, while the four males were forced to be poked and pricked by needles. The first chance they got, they ran. Harry knew it was pointless, they still all needed to be fitted for dress robes after all, but at the moment, freedom was a wonderful thing.

"Tom," he muttered looking around hopelessly. To his shock, Tom popped out of a side isle and instantly snaked his arm around Harry's waist. A smile quickly found its way onto Harry's face and he sighed happily closing his eyes. "I love you," he said quietly. "And I mean it."

"What's with the change all of a sudden," Tom asked suspiciously.

"Nothing…" Harry wrapped his arms around Tom's neck grinning, his body resting against his boyfriend's own. "Just tired…so how did you get Hagrid's wand back?"

"I knew you were up to something," Tom said rolling his eyes. He kept his grip firmly around his boyfriend making no moves to release him. "But then, what fun would you be without that curiosity." Harry closed his eyes, his form relaxing and he instantly began nuzzling Tom, his thoughts on trying to get an answer out of his boyfriend completely wiped out of his mind.

"So…what kind of dress robe are you going to get," he asked quietly. He felt Tom shrug under his embrace and couldn't help laughing. "You need dark blue robes…"

"Dark blue," Tom repeated. Harry opened his eyes so he could meet his boyfriend's gaze and nodded. "Why dark blue," he asked as if he was going to regret it.

"Your eyes…they're red…dark blue or maybe black with red highlights hidden in it," he muttered. Tom gave him a worried expression, but said nothing and Harry quickly placed his head back on Tom's shoulder. 'Just a little more,' he thought to himself.

"I on the other hand believe dark green would suit him better," Snape said coldly from behind them. As if shattering the moment, Harry found himself pulling away from Tom instantly and moving to his side. Tom shot a death glare at Snape, who merely smirked and continued. "Perhaps something with a snake involved…"

"Or maybe you shouldn't be suggesting things," Tom demanded. He tried to get his grip back around Harry, but he walked off before Tom could succeed and left them alone to talk. "My boyfriend ran away because of you," Harry heard Tom whine, but he couldn't pick up on the rest as he went farther into the sea of robes. He was about to turn down one row only to see Ron and Draco making out in it and headed back to the stand where Hermione was being fitted for her dress robe.

"Hey, nice dress," he grinned at her. She smiled at him and did a small spin to give him a complete view. The long blue, purple, and pink colors giving her a twilight like image, the sparkles glittering on and off in some kind of magical way. "Krum's going to have a heart attack when he sees you."

"I can't wait to see yours," she smiled back at him. Madame Malkin came back over and removed the robe from Hermione. She walked over to where Harry had taken a seat and sat down beside him. "You two aren't fighting are you?"

"No, Snape caught him," he laughed. Hermione joined in and started scanning the robes in front of them.

"I think you should try for a dark red set…the green looked good on you, but I think you should try the dark red this time," she said with a small nod. Harry shrugged, a bit amused that he'd just gotten done doing the same thing to Tom and realized that it was to points annoying.

"I'll let Madam Malkin decide." Sure enough a few minutes later, being the only boy that could be found, he was by himself standing on one of the alters, pins being poked and prodded into a dark red set of robes that somehow looked blue when the light hit it. Despite his will to remain mature he found himself playing with the robe making it randomly hit the light. Even if he had been in the wizarding world for so long, he still couldn't help getting excited over anything magic related.

"Well…didn't think you'd get into it that much…" Harry jerked his head up and paled seeing his godfather standing in front of him. He was holding an ice cream cone that Harry had to wonder where he'd gotten it from, since the man who owned the ice cream shop was missing. He grinned at him, but the damage had been done and Harry wanted nothing more then to run away as quickly as possible. To his relief Madam Malkin came over a few seconds later, removed the robe, and nodded to him.

"Got to find the next one," she muttered disappearing into the racks of robes. Harry inched off to his godfather and quickly followed him outside along with Hermione. Hagrid handed an ice cream to Hermione then, Sirius giving Harry his own.

"Found someone else selling ice cream," Sirius grinned. Harry would have said something, but he found himself enjoying the ice cream to much and just nodded. They waited for what seemed like an hour for the other four to make it out of the robe shop. After Ginny, Hermione, and Harry had nearly finished their ice creams cones, Mrs. Weasley decided she'd had enough and went inside.

"Well that can't be good," Harry, muttered watching her storm into the store. Sighing Harry handed what was left of his cone to Sirius and getting to his feet ran in after Mrs. Weasley. He didn't expect to be met with the scene that was taking place, Tom growling at Madam Malkin, Snape holding him back, and Draco and Ron off to the side holding the boxes that no doubt already contained their robes. "Tom," he groaned loudly. The boy looked up and stopped struggling instantly, his gaze locked on Harry. "Why must you always be so difficult?"

**TBC**

This update like the last one took a while…all I can do is apologize


	9. A New Threat

**Notes: **Nothing really, besides I apologize a lot for the lack of updates.

**Warnings: **It's Shonen ai, Gay pairings, Tom/ Harry, Ron/ Draco and so on. Get over it they're not breaking up.

Chapter, 9: A New Threat

"Because people who are supposed to be standing beside me keep abandoning me," he sneered. Harry just rolled his eyes though walking pass Mrs. Weasley and over to his boyfriend shaking his head slowly. Why Tom had to misbehave every time he walked out of a room was beyond him. Ron had once suggested that Tom did it for attention, which Harry could agree with, the only problem being if he stopped giving Tom the attention, someone would no doubt end up dead.

He stopped when he was standing directly in front of the Slytherin, arms across his chest, those around him letting the heir go silently, but quickly. For a split second, Harry wondered if letting someone die so Tom would stop these antics would be worth it, but quickly decided against it.

"You wouldn't have decided the fight with Snape was more important if you were that desperate to get outside to me," the Gryffindor said simply. No one said a word. Harry usually didn't stand up to Tom in front of everyone else and out of the privacy of their minds.

Madam Malkin took advantage of this time to finish Tom's dress robe. When she was done she removed the robe from Tom nearly knocking the boy over.

"All done!" She then vanished from sight for a second before returning and handing Tom the box. He took it silently trying to decide what his next move should be no doubt, when Snape shoved him towards Harry a warning glare clearly etched onto his face.

"The problems you cause," Harry laughed suddenly as he took his boyfriend's hand to lead him out of the shop. Once outside he took Tom's ice cream from Sirius and handed it to his boyfriend. "Now behave." Tom nodded; more interested now in the ice cream than anything else. "Good, where to next?"

"The Apothecary," Ron muttered, but Harry noticed the two Slyhterin's eyes light up and couldn't bring himself to be depressed about going, at least not until he actually stepped foot into the shop.

"Ice cream, love?" Before Harry could even register the question Tom had uttered he had said object in his face and no sooner, on it.

"T-ADERES! DO I HAVE TO MAKE YOU STAY THE NIGHT WITH SIRUS?" Harry demanded. He couldn't believe the issues he had to deal with. He had thought their trip to Diagon would have been a pleasant one, but he had a feeling this was just the start of a group of disasters for the day.

"You wouldn't," Tom hissed taking a step back in horror.

"Watch me," Harry growled as he removed his glasses in an attempt to clean them. Hermione took them from Harry though, so she could clean them with her wand as she always did. This problem removed, the two boys squared off calling attention from just about everyone in Diagon Alley. No one seemed to want to get in their way, the others were used to this by now, so they were more than a bit shocked when Hagrid pulled Harry back, Snape doing the same to Tom.

"Stop being such nuisances," Snape growled. Tom hissed something in Snake that Harry couldn't make out due to the low tone and stomped off into the store. Harry was about to make a stream of protests when Hermione handed him his glasses and pointed to the sign, which turned out to be the Apothecary.

"Might I suggest you all buy worthwhile ingredients this year," Snape said emotionlessly before walking in after Tom. The entire situation was now turned around, the three Slytherins acting like they were in a candy store while the Gryffindors walked around muttering and collecting their supplies.

"Is that a Kappa beak," Ron asked squinting at the jar in front of them. Harry wasn't sure at all, his eyes were already much worse than Ron's and with the way the liquid and jar were, he couldn't even tell what color the object was.

"Might be…Why are our boyfriends' potion freaks?" Harry asked aloud as he set his supplies on the floor. Everyone had already gotten their items on their list, save for the two Slytherin students who were still running around and trying to buy anything they could, using Snape whenever they couldn't.

"The same reason you two are quidditch freaks," Tom said coldly from behind them. "And that's a Kirin horn you idiots." He must have noticed the confused look on Ron's face, because he sighed and started to explain. "It's also known as a Chinese Unicorn-"

"The one with carp scales right?" Harry, asked looking more closely at the jar. It seemed odd at how disfigured the horn looked due to the jar and stuff inside of it. He squinted more in an attempt to see it better, but it didn't help at all, it still looked more like a Kappa beak to him.

"Mhmm." Tom seemed satisfied that at least Harry knew what he was talking about, and dragged the boy into an embrace from behind. "And what else makes these unicorns different from their European cousins," he asked whispering right into Harry's ear. The boy instantly started blushing, but made himself think it over. As he went over some ideas in his mind, he remembered the sketches he'd done in Care of Magical Creatures.

"The horn isn't straight, it's more like a deer's horn and it has an ox tail," he said happily. One of Tom's hands trailed down his side causing his blush to deepen, but he held his ground.

"Don't forget it can be any color, not just white," he said warningly before he bit down on Harry's neck. Harry let out a sharp gasp, Tom's arm going around his stomach tightly. 'So when do I get to see under your clothes again?' Laughing he let go and started to walk off, but the Gryffindor grabbed his arm and jerked him back.

'When you decide to stop acting so childish,' he replied. Tom said nothing just sizing him up before pulling his arm back and going back on his way.

"You look like an apple," Ron grinned at his friend, but Harry just glared at him. "What? I think he's still mad, mate." Harry would have hit Ron if the words Tom had just said weren't wrapping around his consciousness and suffocating him.

"Harry dear, why don't you, Ron, Hagrid, and I go to Eeylops, while the others finish up here?" Harry couldn't think of a better excuse and jumped on the chance, the four leaving as quickly as possible to buy owl nuts.

**(X)**

"How come you've gotten farther with Ron than I have Harry? We've been dating longer then you," Tom hissed as the group walked towards Eeylops to get Harry and the others.

"Because I didn't rape Ron our first time, he was willing," Draco said casually as he examined the quidditch shop window and then started following again. Tom knew his friend was right, but was not about to admit it, especially when Ron let Draco sleep with him almost every night. He hadn't exactly raped Harry though. Sure it had started out that way, but the Gryffindor hadn't protested after he'd gotten him on the ground.

"…I don't know, which is worse," Snape said slowly. "You raping Potter or the fact Draco willingly slept with Weasley…" The two boys jerked around to get a view of their professor who looked paler than usual and close to being sick. They hadn't realized how close he was to them, as they'd taken off ahead somewhat so they could talk quietly.

"Well…" Draco blushed looking away and Tom really couldn't think of a better explanation himself so merely shrugged.

"I've only done it once, but he refuses to even let us take a bath together," Tom whined. "He's completely untrusting! He won't even change in front of me!" A good deal of people were now staring at Tom and whispering quietly. Tom looked away and started walking faster. "I got him on our anniversary, but I think that was just because it was our anniversary."

"You're not going to get anywhere acting like that," Snape scolded at him. Tom was about to say something along the lines of 'how would you know,' but thought better of it. He didn't feel like dying at such a young age, not when he was still plotting on ways to get Harry in bed with him.

"I've been good. When he tells me to stop, I stop within a minute or so of his request! And it's not as if the rape was really rape. He was pretty willing once we..." His voice trailed off when he saw Sirius standing behind Snape, pale and shaking.

"You and Harry..." Sirius didn't seem to be able to get the words out of his mouth.

For the first time Tom was actually fearful of his boyfriend's godfather.

"Well…" The wizard looked around nervously trying to decide his next move. He looked at Draco, back to the fuming animagus and decided his only choice was to avoid it. "I NEVER TOLD YOU A THING," he screamed running towards Eeylops. He managed to locate his lover soon enough, but not without causing more trouble in the store as he shoved pass random wizards to get to Harry.

**(X)**

"Okay…that should be enough for Heddwig, Pigdeon, and Basilisk- Mr. Weasley? Tom?" Harry stared at Ron's dad in shock, not to mention feeling uneasy that Tom seemed to be hiding behind the Gryffindor and was firmly latched onto his arm. Ron's dad however had a ripped shirt; his glasses were hanging from one ear and he clearly had a black eye forming where the glasses weren't.

"DAD?"

"Tom did you do this?" Harry demanded turning around to face him.

"No, your godfather got him," Draco explained walking over to his own boyfriend.

"Wh, what? Why would Sirius do something like that?" He looked at Ron's dad again before staring at Draco for some kind of explanation.

"He overheard Tom admitting he raped you," Draco said.

Harry's entire body instantly froze. He hadn't told anyone about that beyond his main group of friends, but now with the others finding out he couldn't help feeling somewhat dirty and even worse. He knew they were going to force him to talk about it.

"You let him get you in bed," Ginny screamed. "And you think I'm bad?" she demanded from Ron.

"Really…I mean it's not as bad as it sounds, towards the end…" he trailed off seeing the look of horror on Mrs. Weasley's face. "Why are we talking about this? My personal life is not that interesting," he said heading for the door. He didn't even make it out though as Sirius came storming in, a bleeding Tom close behind. Harry had to do a double check to figure out why Tom was no longer attached to him. He hadn't even noticed that Tom had let go of his arm, shook his head and stared at them. "T, Tom?"

"I'm fine," he hissed dangerously. "But your godfather can be rather childish." Everyone beyond Harry's group of five kept giving Tom odd looks now to the point the Slyhterin quietly began heading back out the door. Harry quickly followed after him, more than annoyed at how they were now treating his boyfriend.

"I know it wasn't-"

"I'm sorry," Tom suddenly blurted out.

"What?" Harry stopped in his tracks. "What are you apologizing for? Sirius? He'll get over it.," he tried to assure him.

"I didn't know you hadn't told the others…at the least, you share everything with your godfather, I was sure he knew and that's why he hated me, but you didn't tell anyone…" He turned to face Harry and locked their gazes. Harry noticed some odd flicker of emotion form behind Tom's eyes, but it vanished just as quickly. "I just wanted our relationship to go farther…I was asking Draco since him and Ron-"

"Are basically at our level," Harry cut him off. "Aderes, Ron won't even admit that he's dating him. Anytime his parents walk in, he shoves Draco off or acts like they were wrestling, we're beyond that." He placed one of his hands on Tom's shoulder. "Yeah, Draco manages to sleep with Ron more, that's your fault," he pointed out with a small glare. "But I'm not ready for that, not yet."

"Okay…"

"But, you have to understand…I'm not that angry about last time either," he said lacing his fingers between Tom's own. "It scared me and it was definitely something I was not ready for, but I don't hate you for it." Tom nodded and Harry couldn't help, but grin. It seemed to him like a huge barrier between the two had completely vanished, one more step towards complete happiness.

"Wonderful scene…but I honestly think Potter's confession was too corny." Draco smirked at them, Tom quickly returning a glare at his friend.

"At least mine admits it." There was a flash of anger in Malfoy's eyes and he followed the other Slytherin remaining silent. Hermione and Harry exchanged worried expressions before going after them. The silence seemed to drag and it felt like hours had gone by before they all finally arrived at Fred and George's joke shop. "U-NO-POO," Tom said staring at the brightly lit sign. "Do you think they'd let us have one for Gryffindor tower?" Grinning Harry just shrugged. He was sure things were going to be back to normal in no time.

"We could ask," he said happily. Mrs. Weasley was obviously not pleased with her son's work, given the muttered curses and threats Harry heard from behind him, yet it still wasn't ruining his time. The thought alone of just seeing the twins excited him enough to make him completely forget the two trailing figures of Sirius and Mr. Weasley, one being held by magical restraints, the other beaten up. "Come on!" He grabbed Tom's hand again and jerked him into the shop an evil grin on his face. There were so many people in there that Harry was positive he could hang all over his boyfriend without an adult's protest.

"You seem happier than usual," Tom smirked. Harry just shrugged slightly dropping his head onto Tom's shoulder as he usually did. With Sirius, being forbidden to come inside, this was as good a time as any to get some attention without causing any.

"It's been a long day, but this place seems like a safe haven," Harry answered.

"Maybe." The two followed Hermione over to the box she was examining. Their thought process had led them to believe that if Hermione was looking at it, it had to be something good, but upon noticing the label 'Patented Daydream Charms,' Harry couldn't help, but laugh. She looked up from the box a small blush on her face.

"No, it's not you Hermione, look." He pointed to Tom. "He looks just like the guy on the box! Well…" He examined his boyfriend. "If he let his hair grow out and took some tranquilizers perhaps a few steroids." At this Hermione too started laughing.

"Some what?"

"This is brilliant magic," Hermione said between laughs. Harry couldn't blame her, the look on Tom's face was priceless, let alone the images Harry was seeing in his own mind of Tom suddenly coming to save him from a crew of pirates.

"If you're not laughing at the product, I'll give you one for free." All three of them turned quickly to see who was talking. Standing there looking quite proud of himself was Fred wearing to Harry's surprise, a set of magenta robes. He went to shake Harry's hand, but upon seeing the glare on Tom's face, grabbed both of their free hands and shook them. "How are you guys? Looks like you two finally stopped fighting…Hermione, what happened to your eye?"

"Punching Telescope," Tom smirked. He obviously hadn't completely forgiven the others for their constant interruptions and trying to keep them apart the first morning after they'd been reunited.

"Oops, forgot about those." He pulled out a tube and handed it to her. "Should fix it right up, should be gone within the hour." Hermione didn't look to assured, but she had no choice as Fred grabbed Harry's free arm and started dragging him to the other side of the shop.

"Come here you two, want-"

"Harry! Aderes!" Said two turned around and suddenly both their hands were being shaken again. "Honestly! Those Voodoo Voldemort dolls are selling fast! Brilliant idea!"

"You've been helping them?" Harry asked trying once again not to laugh. The image of Voldemort going up in flames at random while safely hidden, because a bunch of people set their dolls on fire though won in the end and he started laughing uncontrollably.

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't come up with the editable dark marks," he grinned. Harry looked over to the barrel containing said objects, where a young boy stood there looking at them.

"Come on you two, I want to show you where we're making our real money." George gave the child near the dark marks a warning and then suddenly, the couple was being pushed into a back room near some muggle magic tricks.

"This would be our much more serious line," Fred grinned.

"It actually shocked us that a lot of the people at the ministry can't do a decent shield charm," George sighed. "Didn't have you as a teacher though, I suppose," he added on grinning at Harry.

"Anyway, we were making these shield hats-"

"And suddenly the ministry is ordering them like crazy. Sad really-"

"Very sad. Guess you just need to look smart-"

"And the ministry thinks you're smart!"

"So we took that idea and decided to have a wide range of shield charmed items," Fred said proudly.

"Not really good enough for unforgivable curses…-"

"But for everything else." Both twins started put on their usual madman grins. "We're also doing other Defense Against the Dark Art items. Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators," George said happily as he went down the list.

"They all seem quite handy," Harry said honestly impressed.

"Yeah, maybe we can make some of the teachers vanish," Tom snickered as he looked over the bottles containing the Instant Darkness Powder.

"Here." George gave Harry the Decoy Detonators Fred had thrown to him. "Should save you when you least expect it. Just drop it, it runs off, and instant diversion with a very loud bang!"

"Can I buy a few of the gloves," Tom asked the twins. They both seemed surprised at this and actually so did Harry.

"You're as good as Harry, why would you need these," Fred asked.

"Because my dear lover's trade mark move is disarming people," he said bluntly causing Harry to turn red and look away. "His enemies have been known to cast the same spell on him to mock him, which he's usually not paying attention at that point and his wand goes flying. If he wears the gloves, problem solved." Harry's face instantly turned six shades of red deeper and he wished he had some of the darkness powder.

"Actually, we weren't ignoring you, we're just busy. Your special order is almost done, we just have to finish the enchantment," George said.

"What-"

"Great," Tom said cutting Harry off. He placed the gloves back into their box and walked out of the room.

"Odd boyfriend you got there Harry. At least he cares though," Fred, laughed. Harry was completely lost though, while still being utterly embarrassed and wasn't even sure as to where he should start with asking questions about all this and so decided to just drop it. He'd find out sooner or later, hopefully it wouldn't be at the cost of his sanity.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, we have someone looking for a joke cauldron," a young witch with short blonde hair said from the doorway.

"Coming Verity," George said winking at Harry. "Help yourself to anything you want, alright? No charge." Harry was about to protest, but George left and before he could attempt with Fred he was being shoved out of the back room, his moneybag suddenly back in his robes.

"You gave us the loan to start this shop. Without you, none of these things would be here." The statement seemed odd to Harry, regardless of how true it was. The concept that none of these objects would be here had he not simply handed Fred and George the money was a bit hard to grasp. He was sure that the twins could have made it this far without him; it'd have just taken them longer.

"You girls haven't found our-"

"ADERES!" Harry's voice rang through half the store, a good deal of people now looking at him, Harry was now currently on the floor, his boyfriend on his back holding a big box.

"How'd you know it was me? Look at this! It helps you with lessons! It's a to the point charm set," he said so proudly Harry had to wonder if Tom had submitted this idea to the twins as well.

"Right….so the Special Wonder Witch products," Fred said somewhat nervously leaving the two boys behind.

"I'll get it so we can study more this year!" Sighing Harry sat up, Tom letting out a small yelp when he landed on the floor. He looked up at his boyfriend pouting and Harry held his hand out to him.

"You're the only idiot to do so, but could I ask you to please not do that anymore?"

"You know self-control is our weakest points," The Slytherin grinned evilly. He took Harry's hand pulling himself up and the two quickly went after Fred. They found him and Ginny bickering about how many boys she was going through, which Harry had to admit was a lot.

"Hold this," Tom said shoving the box at his boyfriend. He started looking over the odd display of pink items that Harry was shocked he was getting near, considering the items were titled Wonder Witch in the first place.

"What are these," Tom asked picking up a small pink bottle. Ginny had told the twins off already, while Harry had attempted to think of all of Ginny's ex-boyfriends. There were too many for him to remember all of them.

"The miniature puffskeins or the love potions?" There was a sound of a small crack and then Harry noticed the pink liquid, pouring over Tom's now bleeding hand. Ginny quickly backed away and Harry rushed to his boyfriend's side.

"T-Aderes, hey, what the…" His voice trailed off as he saw the odd daze in Tom's eyes that he was so used to seeing as a glare. "Fred, is he-?"

"No, he'd have to swallow it. Let's get him out of the crowd so he can breathe." Fred and Harry quickly began moving the Slyhterin while George cleaned up the mess. Tom didn't seem to notice at all that he was being moved, instead remaining in his daze, the only movement being his hand as the glass fell out of the cuts.

"Geeze, what's wrong," Harry asked. Panic quickly taking over his rational side he decided to try a mental approach instead.

'To-' Lighting shot through Harry's entire body. He blinked a few times and after attempting to sit up realized, he'd been thrown into a shelf a few feet away. There were people around him asking him if he was okay. One he gathered was Fred, but the others were just muffled sounds that he couldn't make out at all. On the floor, his knees bent under him. Tom sat across from him, his daze replaced with a fierce almost deadly look as he stared at his hand, the pink liquid now more purple as his blood mixed with it.

Snape was suddenly beside the boy wiping the potion and blood away. Then, just as suddenly as Snape had appeared Draco came into view holding some kind of a bottle and poured the liquid onto Tom's hand after the potion's master had finished cleaning it. Tom didn't seem to be responding to any of this, or it didn't look like it to Harry.

"-kind of shock, we need-Dumbledore. Help me-up." The words, some of the few besides Fred's were the only ones that registered in Harry's mind. He watched the two Slytherin pick up his boyfriend, George moving everyone to the side so they could get through, and then vanish through the door.

The door shut the small bell on it gave a small jingle and reality came slamming full force into Harry. Tom had been taken from him again, people were whispering, gossiping, and some asking if he was all right, but his eyes weren't focusing again and he couldn't get his legs to move. Instead, he moved his arm, as he found out someone else was holding the other one, and grabbed the necklace from beneath his shirt. The moon shaped necklace was pulsing red, but not broken. Some relief flooded through him, but not enough, he wanted to be by Tom, not stuck in some store.

"HARRY!" A dark blur that had been in Harry's view started to gain features. He blinked thinking this would help, but all the blurriness came back instead from the action. "Speak to me! What'd he do?"

"-shock…should….fine."

"That!-to be…"

"…Dumbledore."

The broken sentences made Harry's head hurt even more and he started growling. Some of the noise died down, but not all of it, not enough of it to stop the pain.

"Shut up," he screamed in Parseltongue. No one understood what he had said, but the snake language itself scared enough of them into silence.

"Let's get him out of here." Hands closed around Harry's arms and legs, and he let out a small groan. The grips hurt horribly, his body still shaking from the bolts of electricity. He was carried out of the shop into Diagon Alley and between the bright light and pain he lost himself to the darkness.

**(X)**

"Ah, what I wouldn't do to have you back in that necklace. Chocolate Frog, Tom?"

"Well, in order to do that, you'd have to send me back to the burrow, so do it already," he growled. He'd woken up in the infirmary as he'd done so many times before, Dumbledore beside him offering him candy. "I know that had to have freaked him out! I have to go see him, let him know that I'm going to be okay!"

"Are you sure he wants to see you Tom? You did send a blast of magic through his mind," the headmaster said casually as he examined the next charmed piece of chocolate.

"Of course he does! We love each other no matter what," he screamed. He got out of the bed despite the nurse's protest and grabbed the front of Dumbledore's robes. He gripped them so tightly that the cut on his hand started bleeding, but he didn't relent at all. "Either you send me back to the burrow or I'll feed you to the giant snake under this school."

"Tom, Harry destroyed that Basilisk his second year, which I know you're aware of very much and so am I. Now please, calm down. I've no intentions of keeping you apart and you're completely right. Harry is having just as much of a fit as you are." He patted Tom's shoulder while moving him back onto the bed. "However, we must really wait before sending you back. You see, Harry's first instinct will be to check your hand and see if you are alright and as you can see, your hand is not alright."

"So," he demanded looking at him desperately. "I freaked out because of the love potion, nothing else! I wasn't being controlled I just…" his voice trailed off, but the headmaster seems to know what it was about already. He smiled one arm going around Tom's shoulders.

"You'll see Harry again probably tonight if your hand heals. Honestly, you know with what happened this summer we can't allow you to run around bleeding. Until your body is fully developed-"

"Yeah, yeah. I'd bleed to death and you don't want to clean up the mess," Tom muttered, but he already looked like he was in better spirits.

"Yes, quite. I'm glad one of you listens."

**TBC**

I hope you guys like it and I hope to keep a regular update going, even if it's once again. Hope you enjoy.


	10. A Memory of Rage

Rewriting can be very great, other times, beyond annoying. Other times, frustrating, because you have no idea what went wrong where. That's where I'm at. Joy.

**Warnings:**It's shonen ai; don't like it, too bad.

**Notes: (X)** Is pov change and or time jump.

**Random note:**Something I found amusing thanks to Chy telling me to read mugglenet . Dumbledore and Grindelwald were in a gay relationship or at the least. Dumbledore had a crush on Grindelwald. I thought that was pretty interesting…and it made for a nice well; it makes more since now that Dumbledore supports Tom and Harry without question.

**Chapter, 10: A Memory of Rage**

"Why do they always do this," Harry seethed. He was currently pacing back and forth in his room, a letter from Tom clutched tightly in his hand. The others in the room no doubt thought he was insane, but he didn't care. He'd been accused of being mad so many times before, what would one more do? "I want Tom back in my arms, now." He threw the letter down and stomped over to the window. 'How can he expect me to remain calm after what happened?' 'I'll be okay, back soon.' 'What kind of an assurance is that?' he mentally screamed. The link had of course been closed as well and as such, he was left alone, the others being forced to deal with him.

"Look, Professor Snape is with him and so is Draco, he'll be fine," Hermione attempted, but the words easily blew over the enraged teen. There was no way she could possibly understand the longing he felt for Tom. After having thought his boyfriend was dead all summer along with his godfather, the reunion had been almost like a trip into paradise. He'd been so relieved, so happy and yet now Tom was once again gone from him, back at Hogwarts talking to Dumbledore who he was starting to hate.

"She's right mate, calm down. He'll be back before the term starts." The words had barely been uttered, but Harry could see the look of regret crossing over Ron's face. He knew it was due to the look he was giving his friend, but he still couldn't get himself to care. His soul felt like it was being ripped in two and nowhere in that supposed letter was there any indication that Tom would be returning before the school year began.

"What was he thinking?" Harry screamed in frustration. "He could at least let us speak to each other mentally!"

"Harry, that bond sent a blast of magic through your body. Maybe we should try and figure out why that love potion had the effect it did before you try using it. I asked Fred and George, it wasn't supposed to do that," she said slowly; no doubt an attempt to keep Harry from screaming at her. He nodded slowly as he'd been thinking about that very thing since it'd happened. Two long agonizing days of tossing and turning as he begged for his boyfriend to return and for an answer to all of it.

"It wasn't faulty, they tested it," Ron said staying clear away from the window Harry had positioned himself under. "So, no one tampered with it."

"You don't think-" Hermione was quiet for a moment to gather her thoughts. If Harry hadn't been so determined to hear everything she had to say on the matter he'd of screamed at her to think faster. "Harry, you said that Tom is Voldemort's younger self right?" He had no idea where she was going with this, but he nodded so she'd continue. "Well, wouldn't…if Voldemort's -Ron shut up- younger self was falling in love with you…wouldn't the present day one like you to?" Harry blinked. It made sense what she was saying, but he couldn't, no wouldn't believe that everything Tom had told him was a lie.

"What's your point?" he asked flatly. He hadn't meant to say it in such a way, but the words had and there was no taking them back.

"Well, love that's so intense like you two have, but not lasting…it's just a theory, but he may already be under a love spell and as he gets stronger he breaks it, which is why his future self hates you," she blurted out and quickly looked away. Harry looked to Ron who merely shrugged and sighed. Closing his eyes, he went over the many conversations he'd had with Tom about this very subject. One of them kept repeating again and again in his mind, the one at St. Mungos's.

"Tom's just Tom," he said in a restrained manner so he could explain it as best he could. "Tom is Voldemort's past self, but he's not Voldemort, or the one who becomes Voldemort."

"How is that possible?" Ron asked, but Harry didn't have an answer. He'd fought with this concept time and time again trying to rationalize what his boyfriend had tried to explain to him for over a year, but in the end, he hadn't cared. In the end, it had become a matter of Harry having fallen in love, regardless of who Tom was or was supposed to become.

"Doesn't matter," he said smiling sadly. "It doesn't matter, because he's one of us and that we all care about one another." The words sounded corny to him, but he hoped Tom would hear them, somehow. That their damaged bond would heal just slightly to allow his boyfriend to know they all cared about him and that he himself loved him more than anything.

**(X)**

The week had almost completely passed by and Harry was still nowhere near a stable state. For some reason he just couldn't relax, nor could he shake the feeling that he could have possibly been abandoned by his boyfriend and Dumbledore was just waiting until he arrived at the school to say anything so he wouldn't run off looking for him. He told himself this was not the case many of times, but for some reason, there was a small voice telling him it was true, that Tom wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

He told himself he'd done nothing wrong though and that Tom had no reason at all to be mad with him. Sighing he sat up from his bed and looked around the room. He'd already sent both owls out to attack Tom for more information, but neither had returned yet.

"This is just my luck," he growled punching his pillow. Distressed, he climbed out of his bed and headed out the door into the hall where he saw Mrs. Weasley sweeping the floor. He felt odd being around her, as she'd sat down and had a long talk with him after having found out that he didn't care that everyone had found out he'd slept with Tom. She'd even gone as far to tell him she had hoped he'd grow out of it, date Ginny, and was even disappointed that he was not going along with her plan. He was about to make a run for it when someone knocked on the door and he ran down the stairs, nearly tripping and hitting the floor before catching his balance and throwing the door open. "Hello may I…" His voice trailed off seeing Dumbledore in the doorway.

"Harry! Brilliant, glad to see you up and about again," the headmaster said happily. He smiled at Harry regardless of the glare he was giving him and gestured to something behind him. "Quite a wonderful day isn't it?" Following the moment Harry's eyes instantly locked onto the figure behind him.

"Tom!" Dumbledore had already side stepped, as had Draco, as Harry dove through the door and proceeded to tackle him only to slam face first into a shield.

"I knew you'd try and jump me. You should know by now, that's my signature move and not to steal it." Harry growled at him, but he dropped the spell and soon enough they were in a tight embrace. The pain Harry had been feeling for the past few days ebbed away and he quickly relaxed, Tom's hand randomly going through his hair. "You were right Professor."

"I swear you're a drug," Harry muttered, but despite his tone, he was grinning ear to ear. He hadn't felt this happy since their last reunion. "You have to stop leaving like that. It's getting annoying all these leavings and comings…"

"If I don't leave you won't miss me so, you won't care about me as much if I don't," he whined, but the teen had played this game with Tom so many times before, the words didn't bother him at all. Instead, they were playing through his head as sweet words that Harry knew, Tom would not say in public yet for a long time.

"Well if you keep ditching me like this, I'll have no choice, but to get someone for while you're gone," Harry grinned. The two of them stared at one another, Tom's smirk twitching slightly as he did his best not to start laughing. "That note you sent me was horrible, you owe me an explanation," he added on as if he'd never mentioned the threat at all.

"In due time," Tom assured him. The Gryffindor wanted the answer now so he could make sure nothing ever happened to his boyfriend again, but found himself to overjoyed at the other teen's return that he didn't push the subject at all. The only thing that mattered to him at the moment was that he was back in Tom's embrace, both of them healed and both safe.

"I missed you a lot…" He admitted sheepishly.

"Good."

"What's all the...oh, Tom, you're back," Mrs. Weasley said quietly. It looked like she was going to say something else, but upon seeing Dumbledore quickly greeted him instead and led him inside.

"She's still mad?" Tom asked snickering. He'd gone as far as to start smelling some of Harry's hair while keeping both his hands firmly around the Gryffindor's waist.

"Very. When I woke up the first time, she kept telling me how disappointed she was that Ginny and I weren't going to be married." He sighed slightly and kissed Tom on the neck. The only person he could ever feel comfortable like this was with Tom. No one else even came close, not even his fantasies of him and Cho going to the wizard ball the year before had made him feel this happy.

"Only a few days till we go back to Hogwarts…have you been studying?"

"Like I could possibly be motivated to study without you around," he laughed. He expected to get some kind of a lecture, but the Slytherin just joined in his snicker and led him back into the burrow. For some reason they avoided everyone else within the house, Tom going straight for the stairs and into their room before he could even attempt a protest. He was shoved into the room, Tom locking the door behind him before he walked over to the bed and sat down on it.

"This bed is so much softer than the infirmary's," he laughed stretching out on it. Harry studied him before finally deciding to climb on top of his boyfriend and warp his arms around his neck. "And of course the lack of company sucked…" He put his arms around Harry's waist as he closed his eyes. "I suppose I can talk to you later about some issues…"

"That would be better; I haven't got much sleep since you've been gone." He tried to laugh it off, but his voice cracked and he just went quiet as he drifted off, Tom stroking his hair with one hand as he did.

**(X)**

"Molly I assure you if you even attempt to remove Tom from Harry's room or even so much as hint at it, your house will not be standing in the morning."

"Then what should I do? I had no idea they…I mean in my own house!-"

"They've done nothing of the sort in your house," Dumbledore smiled placing his cup of tea on the table in front of him. "That event happened only once and I know this as Tom has been badgering me for ways to get Harry to sleep with him again." The headmaster sounded far to calm for what they were actually talking about.

"What," she screamed in distress. She looked around quickly to see if she'd caught anyone else's attention and lowered her voice. "But Harry…the poor dear isn't ready…they're both boys!"

"Molly, really," he scolded slightly. "Harry is a mature boy and Tom himself has matured quite a lot during this past year. I've nothing, but trust and faith in those two and how they handle their relationship. You have nothing to worry about unless one breaks up with the other," he tried to assure her, but he knew he hadn't. She kept shifting from side to side looking around nervously as if waiting for someone to come in and say it was all a joke. "I've no intentions of breaking them up, nor do I believe that Harry has any feelings for Ginny in that way," he added on knowing what Mrs. Weasley's attempts had been from day one. "They'll be fine." That said he stood up and made his departure.

**(X)**

"I really don't want to get on that train," Tom muttered glaring at his trunk, not that Harry cared much, Tom was getting on that train with him regardless of what he wanted, but he did wonder why. Sighing and holding back the urge to tie his boyfriend up and drag him with, he folded his arms across his chest and stared down at him on the bed.

"All right Tom, why don't you want to get on the train?" His boyfriend looked around as he had done just a few days before and he suddenly felt like curling up next to him rather than getting on the train himself. "Well?" he asked quickly hoping to get the thought out of his mind. If they were both against getting on the train, neither of them would ever make it to Hogarts.

"That new professor," he said quietly looking away. Harry had to think for a moment before he remembered all the bad things Sirius had said about Professor Slughorn.

"Why would Professor Slughorn bother you? I know Sirius mentioned he hated him…I guess you two finally have something in common," he grinned at him trying to cheer his boyfriend up. Tom didn't return the smile though and so Harry dropped it sitting down next to his Slytherin heir.

"So it's the only thing that crackpot of a godfather knows," he growled. Harry growled slightly at the comment, but didn't push it. There had been so many problems already, because of Tom and Sirius he didn't feel like bringing up more. Instead, he leaned over kissing Tom deeply hoping to calm him down enough to get him to talk. "You're a very evil child," he snickered removing himself from beneath Harry's arm. Harry watched him grab his already packed trunk and leave as he himself started grinning.

"Got you to leave though," he said proudly grabbing his own trunk and heading out the door. He was glad they had packed all of their things the night before. If they had actually waited until this very day, both Tom and Harry spending it mostly in bed, they'd have never made it on time.

"Only so he didn't have to tell you why he hated that professor," Draco pointed out as he walked pass him and down the steps. Harry blinked realizing he'd been tricked and started growling again in frustration.

"I'm going to kill him! How does he keep getting away with that?"

"Because you let him," Ron said from behind him. Harry turned to glare at his friend, but ended up going to help him as Ron nearly dropped the trunk onto the floor. He helped him set it down so nothing was destroyed, namely the wall he'd almost put it through.

"I do not," he said with a scowl, but in the end, he knew it was true. He was constantly missing important details in their conversations so that Tom would end up getting out of numerous demands. "How do you even stop him from doing something like that? He's too good at it." The two Gryffindors helped carry each other's trunk down one at a time so nothing was dropped.

"I don't know, but you better figure out a way fast or he's going to have you doing a lot of things you don't want to." Once again, Harry was having the truth thrown at him, but he honestly didn't know how to take control of it.

"He's going to get me in bed again, I can feel it," he shuddered.

"It's not that bad once you get used to it." Harry stopped dead in his tracks as he watched his tomato colored friend inch out the door past him and place the trunk in the car. Harry wasn't sure if he should be shocked or not.

"He must have paid him to say that," Harry tried to convince himself, but when he got into the car and saw the look Ron was giving Draco, the two of them secretly holding hands, Harry wasn't all that sure anymore. He sat beside Hermione, the door on his other side, while Tom glared at him since he'd gotten stuck between the other door and Hermione. In front of him was Ginny, who kept glaring at him every time she could catch his gaze. This lasted the entire time until they finally arrived at the train station.

"Alright, the Aurors are just right outside," Mr. Weasley said nodding to the two darkly dressed wizards and they gave a slight nod back. "Harry, we want you to go first."

"Alright." He climbed out quickly, happy to get away from Ginny and Tom's glares and put his trunk on a trolley. One of the Aurors was about to grab Harry when Tom got in between them kissing Harry full on the lips and nodding to the platform.

"This is why you should sit with me." Harry rolled his eyes, the two ministry workers looked at Mr. Weasley for help, but all he could do was shrug.

"Come on."

'Thanks.' Harry ran through the barrier quickly, the train appearing before his eyes causing him to smile brightly. The sight of the train always meant freedom to him, a chance to get away from everyone and of course a chance to freely tackle Tom whenever he wished to.

'Like I'd let anyone else touch you,' he said grinning evilly. Harry honestly didn't need to be told as Tom had made it quite clear many of times that no one was to touch him, unless under dire circumstances. The others followed behind soon enough, Ron, Draco, and Hermione running off to the perfect's carriage leaving Tom and Harry alone.

Sighing Harry put his trunk on the train only to be jerked right back off. He was expecting to see anyone besides Sirius grinning at him, but that's exactly who it was.

"Another school year! Had to ditch Remus for a moment," he laughed giving Harry a tight hug. "Glad to see you're up and about. I'd have visited you at the Burrow, but Molly wouldn't let me back in."

"That's her problem," Harry grinned back returning the hug. He couldn't help feeling a small amount of anger rise up inside of him at the mention of Molly refusing Sirius' entrance. He'd been utterly miserable without Tom being there; she could have at least let his godfather in or sent him to his godfather's house.

"Yeah which usually leads to our own. Oh well. I got to see you again anyways," he grinned.

"Harry, what-Oh it's you," Tom said emotionlessly as he took in Sirius. "The train is leaving soon," he growled coldly turning away, but Harry grabbed his wrist stopping him in his steps.

"Tom," Sirius said.

"The train is going. I'll send you a ton of owls! And I'll be around for Christmas too!"

"Just what we need, another blood bath," Tom growled.

"Tom!" Glaring Harry walked pass him onto the train growling.

"Watch him," Sirius said suddenly. "I can't, but you seem to be around him all the time so…keep him safe."

"Glad Lupin finally made you think." He turned so he was facing Sirius as he smirked triumphantly. "But you have my promise," he said holding his hand out. "I'll keep Harry safe, no matter what."

"You're only being nice, because Molly hates you too," he smirked back at the boy. There was no denying this as the two had come to some mutual agreement that as long as Molly was against the both of them, they'd need to team up to make sure Harry remained happy. Tom had no time to voice this thought though as he was suddenly being jerked forward as Harry had been only seconds ago and into a tight embrace.

"Dumbledore told me everything," he whispered to him slowly. "I trust him more than anyone and sure enough I owe you my own life. You've got one chance kid. You turn out like Voldemort and I'll personally see to your death….On the other hand I know what it's like to be the outcast of your whole family…you have a new one now so get over it." He let Tom go who quickly jumped back onto the train his eyes narrowed so much they looked like they belonged to a snakes, his face completely flushed.

"Don't tempt me dog," he warned before turning his back on the man and walking down the hall.

"Have a good year," Sirius screamed behind him waving. Tom could see him through some of the windows his mood instantly worsening.

"Go play submissive to your wolf," he screamed back. Sirius stopped dead in his tracks his face going red, but Tom ran off quickly so he couldn't be spotted and cursed from the platform. 'I can't believe that stupid headmaster,' he thought to himself angrily. 'I don't care how much alike that stupid man's situation is to mine, I don't need his pity.'

**(X)**

"Aderes, what were you doing?" Harry asked as he tried to not only keep his temper under control, but also hope that Tom had in fact done nothing wrong at all and he was merely paranoid.

"He wished me a good year," Tom muttered. Harry couldn't believe it, but one mental check showed he was telling the truth. The Gryffindor wasn't sure if he should be happy though or suspicious of this new forming friendship. Despite that, he couldn't ignore how happy he'd be if his godfather finally accepted his boyfriend. Pushing the matter wouldn't help though, he knew so instead he just pulled his boyfriend into the seat beside him letting the subject go.

"People are already staring, because of the ministry," he said quietly. Tom must have picked up on the jumble of feelings going through his mind as he was suddenly leaning on Tom's shoulder and getting his hair stroked.

"Neville, Luna," Tom said nodding to them.

"Glad to see you're still alive. We had all thought you died," Luna said happily. Harry had to look up at this and wonder if Luna had lost more of her mind.

"Luna, he was at the birthday party," he said his thoughts no longer dwelling on the people outside or anything that'd happened at the ministry.

"So he was." She sank back into her seat reading a volume of the Quibbler. The other three boys looked to one another nervously before starting to chat amongst themselves. Neville showed them his new wand, unicorn hair and cherry while expressing his fears of not getting into Transfiguration. Harry and Tom though were more concerned about this new wand rather than the class, hoping that this one might actually work for the poor boy.

"And Gram is really happy that I went with you Harry! Said I was finally living up to my name!" he sounded so happy to Harry he couldn't help, but grin as he listened regardless of the mixed feelings returning. He knew he shouldn't be sad or even depressed about what had gone on, after all, Voldemort might have gotten away, but both Tom and Sirius had come back to him, they were still both alive and in the end, that was all that mattered to him. "Oh, are we doing D.A. this year," he asked hopefully bringing Harry out of his thoughts.

"Well, we got rid of Umbridge," Harry started, but the other two didn't seem happy with the way he was going with his reply. "Well, why don't we try to get it started as a normal club? We can ask Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall for permission."

"That sounds lovely," Luna beamed going back to her magazine again. The compartment fell silent then as he leaned against Tom watching the scenery passing by the window. He couldn't help wondering what this school year was going to bring. With the ministry out of the school there was so much that could happen, Dumbledore had promised him special classes that only he was allowed to attend and of course Tom, but as always, the headmaster had given no hint as to what these classes would be about.

'I doubt many people show up,' Tom said after some time had passed. Harry blinked a few times bringing himself out of his daze and gave a small nod. 'Doesn't hurt to keep studying though. Did you see your crushes' friend," Tom asked evilly.

'Would have thought it'd have vanished by now, but yes. I quite enjoyed it.'

'Good.'

"You know, you two don't have to sit in here." All four teens turned to look at the doorway, a bunch of fourth year girls huddled around the one that had spoken. Harry wanted to give them all a piece of his mind, but Tom happened to beat him to it.

"Who said I'd hand over Luna and Neville," The Slytherin asked harshly. "They're my slaves and this one is my hostage." He pointed to Harry. The girls looked at each other quietly before quickly whispering amongst themselves. The one that had spoken first gave their group's reply once they'd finished their private conversation.

"We meant you and Harry," she said flatly.

"And why would we leave our friends to sit with a bunch of underdeveloped, fourth year, girls?" The leader made an odd choking noise and walked off quickly, a different girl glaring and slamming the compartment door shut so hard Harry was shocked the glass hadn't shattered. "I hate girls like that," Tom, sighed grabbing Harry's chin and kissing him.

"Look at this. We leave 'em alone for five minutes and we come back to this." Harry jerked up blushing horribly, Ron, Draco, and Hermione standing in the doorway. "Enjoying yourselves," Ron asked a wide grin on his face.

"A lot more before you made him self conscious," Tom muttered. Laughing the three perfects walked in and took their seats. "So how'd the meeting go?"

"Well," Draco replied in a bored tone. Harry could tell Draco was much more interested in Ron's neck though, which was now supporting a new bright red bite mark. Harry's face turned red again and he looked away instantly. Despite his mind's protest he kept wondering how it'd feel if Tom would bite him like that, if he'd gaze at the mark while it was still fresh.

"Harry?" Said Gryffindor looked up blinking and noticed a nervous looking girl holding out a scroll.

"Th, thanks." He took it and the girl nodded before running out of the compartment leaving the group back to their thoughts again. At this point he took notice that only Neville and Tom had gotten the scrolls as well.

"And this is why I didn't want to come on the train," Tom said angrily. He threw the scroll onto the ground and refused to look at it anymore. Curiosity got the better of Harry though and he opened his.

"An invitation to meet with Professor Slughorn? ….It can't be that bad," Harry tried, but he already knew it would be. Slughorn didn't seem like the easiest to get along with guy and with both Tom and Sirius hating him there had to be something he didn't know about the man that made him a bad person.

"You know it will be," Tom hissed. "And even worse if I go with." Regardless of the protests, though all three boys began making their ways to the new teacher's compartment. 'I'm going to destroy him,' Tom warned one last time.

'Then only do it mentally,' Harry warned him right back before shoving his boyfriend in so he couldn't run. The three quickly took seats across from the professor so they wouldn't be smashed.

"All here then," he asked happily looking around at all of them. "Let's see, this is Blaise Zabini," the teacher started pointing to the Slytherin. He nodded to Tom who gave a slight nod back. "Cormac McLaggen," he said motioning to another boy. This one waved to Harry and Neville completely ignoring Tom, the two Gryffindor nodded back at him. "And Marcus Belby and this charming young lady tells me she knows you already." Harry couldn't help, but feel bad for Ginny as she was being smashed behind their new teacher.

'He didn't introduce us,' Harry mentally said to his boyfriend.

'No one has to introduce you, as for Neville and I…you'll see.' And it was the only thing he could get out of the Slytherin. Soon enough their small little get together turned into more of an interview as Slughorn went down the list of students happily reading off famous people they knew or in Harry's case, things they had done.

"And Aderes Keaira," Slughorn said pleasantly. "I understand your father works in the min…" his voice seemed to trail off as he switched his full attention to Tom. "Wh, what are you doing here," he asked quietly, his voice shaking.

"You invited me," Tom scowled handing him his scroll. "Aderes Keaira, son of a top ranking ministry official," he said somewhat proudly. "He's done such _wonderful_work for the ministry after all," he smirked. The teacher had not seemed to hear any of this though and was still staring at Tom with fear clearly written in his eyes.

'Tom, what's he so scared of,' Harry demanded.

'He used to teach me, back when I was in my sixth year.'

"Which one…you couldn't possibly be…" The teacher gave a quick shake of his head and started laughing. "No of course not! You're just related to him r, right? Your father…or grandfather has the same name?" He sounded far more desperate than Harry had expected, but Tom was enjoying himself too much.

"My grandfather," he said in a rather convincing tone. Slughorn gave a small nod, but he still seemed to be sweating a good deal more than what the heat of the compartment called for. "My father though works at the ministry, right with Scrimgeour actually."

The rest of the conversations and interviews were extremely strained and the more the professor talked, the more Harry began to dislike him. He could completely understand why Sirius and Tom were against this man, someone who was using the children as ways to gain connections with other famous people and increase his own social status.

'It's almost over. It's the same thing as last time,' Tom assured him. He sighed wishing it'd been over half an hour ago, but finally Slughorn gave them permission to head back to their own compartments to change. The others bolted out the door before Harry could even stand up since Tom was holding him in place. After they'd all left, he allowed him to stand up and let go of Harry's wrist.

"The other one…he's not here…right…?" Tom turned to look at the teacher as though he were mad.

"What other one?" He sounded far too innocent for Harry's liking as the Slytherin walked off, Slughorn looking as though he'd been smacked hard across the face.

"Aderes," he growled running after him. The school year hadn't even begun and he had another four hundred questions that needed answering now. 'So much for thinking this would be a calm year.'

**TBC**

I'd like to get my lazy butt into gear and two twice a week, but we'll see how it works out. Thanks everyone, hope you enjoy the update.


	11. Welcome back

I'd love to say I'm going to stay on top of things, but that seems to be a lie. So I'm not.

Notes: It's shonen ai; I added some things that weren't in the book, as I obviously had to change things up. One I wanted the school year to be more interesting, two, Draco can't possibly be a bad guy since he's helping Tom and Harry and three…well it was more fun this way. Oh and **(X)**is time jump and or pov change.

**Warnings:**It's shonen ai, get over it. If you haven't figured this out by now…you're a sad person.

Chapter, 11: Welcome back

Sighing Harry made it back to their compartment wondering for the hundredth time why he was dating Tom. Sure, he had no doubt in his mind that he was in love with him, he just had to keep asking himself why and how he was in love with such an obviously crazy person. Closing his eyes to ready himself he slid the door open and walked in confidently. He was shocked when he opened the compartment door and was jerked in, saw no one in the room, and then heard the door slam shut behind him.

"W, what," he jerked around quickly to see Tom standing there banging hard on the door.

"Open up Damnit! Alohamora!"

"T, Tom?" He turned around quickly to look at Harry, his hand dropping down to his side.

"It won't open!"

"Well, I didn't even hear you screaming…I don't think anyone else can either…" He looked around before sitting down in one of the seats. "Someone's bound to notice we're missing." Tom moved over to where he'd taken a seat and sat down beside him.

"I wonder if the others are in the same boat," he said. He decided since he was beside Harry he was going to be his pillow, exactly at the same time Harry decided to he was going to get up and change into his robes. As a result, Tom fell onto the seat instead of Harry muttering curses one after another.

"You are not to jump me," Harry warned as he started to change his clothes. He watched Tom wearily as he did so just to make sure he was not jumped. When he finished he took his seat back from the heir. "Your turn."

"Why are we changing? No one's going to find us. We're going to starve to death in here. Yep…good as dead…why don't we make out until then?" Harry rolled his eyes shoving Tom up and onto his feet.

"I'm going to forbid you to speak to Draco anymore." Despite the annoyed tone he was smiling and began pulling Tom's shirt off to the other boy's delight.

"We're go-"

"I'm putting your robes on," he scolded before laughing when Tom shoved him away playfully back onto the seat refusing to put the school shirt on.

"You're going to have to make me," he taunted waving the shirt in front of himself before placing it in his mouth. He grinned evilly at him obviously trying to look sexy. His attempt failed horribly though as Harry's attention was directed at the window behind his boyfriend instead. He jumped to his feet shoving Tom out of the way so he could get to it. With any luck the person who'd put the spell on the compartment was an idiot. "HEY!"

"The window," he screamed trying to pull it open. No such luck. Regardless of all his tugging, he couldn't get it open. "This is horrible," he muttered slumping against the wall.

"Yes, you are," Tom said walking over to the window and unlocking it. He pushed it open smirking and looked back down at his boyfriend.

"I hate you."

"Well, Draco loves me at the moment," he said, but Harry stood up glaring at him so he couldn't go on trying to make him jealous.

"Say one more word; I'll cut your hair off." Tom looked horrified, even to the point of grabbing his hair to make sure it was still there.

"You're even more evil than I am."

"I learned from the best." Smirking he started removing his trunk from the rack.

"Okay, if you can get that trunk out that window, I will be shocked." Harry blinked not quite understanding Tom's words until he looked down at the trunk and back at the window.

"Okay fine, I'll get my trunk later." He started to put his leg out the window.

"Do I look that skinny," Tom demanded walking towards him.

"Transform into a snake."

"Yo-"

"Tom! Harry!" Both jerked around just in time to see Tonks opening the door.

"Don't close it," they both screamed in union, Harry going as far as to shove his way in between Tonks and the door. She looked at the two of them oddly before shaking her head and grabbing the back of Harry's robes.

"Come on," she said running towards the door dragging Harry with her. Tom followed after them quickly, Tonks shoving Harry off the train as it started to leave. He rolled onto the platform blinking as he tried to piece things together or at least that was what he was trying to do until Tom and Tonks landed beside him.

"Well, that's one more means of transportation to add to my hated list," he said with a scowl sitting up. Harry just stared at him.

"Tom…don't make me finish that sentence." He got up dusting his robes off and helped Tonks up. Glaring, Tom also stood up, his eyes narrowed at his boyfriend. Harry looked away innocently and directed Tonks towards the castle.

"Don't ignore me," he growled going after them.

"So, how've you been," Harry asked. He managed to avoid being hit in the back of the head by Tom's wand.

"Brilliant! Sirius and I have managed to catch up and Lupin set me up with this wonderful man," she said sighing happily. While seeming off in her own little world she pulled her wand out and cast a patronous. "Sending word that I've got you two…any idea who did it?"

"Not a clue. We came back from Slughorn's and ended up there." Tonks thought this over for a second before nodding.

"Well, we'll figure it out," she said grinning at him. "We always do." They stopped at the front gate where to Harry's surprise stood the potion's master. Before Tom, he'd have been disgusted to see the professor letting them in, but he just wasn't that bad a person now that he was getting to know him.

"Late as always Po-Aderes where is your shirt and robes," he asked his mouth hanging open at the boy.

"On the train," he hissed walking pass the other two who were laughing. Once inside the gate he pulled out his wand muttering a spell, his clothes appearing on him. Snape didn't seem sure if he wanted to know what Tom meant by this comment and so just stood there waiting for Harry.

"Have fun you two! Good luck in your classes!" She grinned giving them a wink. Harry waved bye to her and then she was suddenly gone without a trace.

"You didn't.…" Snape finally asked looking at the two.

"Do I look bald," Tom snapped shooting his boyfriend a very evil glare. Sighing Harry walked over to Tom taking his hand in his own.

"It was just a joke. You'll have your payback in no time." Physically Tom said nothing, but the mental response that went through his mind was without a doubt a threat to his life. As such, the rest of the walk to the castle was in silence. "Are you still going to sit with us," he asked once they were in the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Of course. What kind of a fool do you take me for?" he demanded. Saying their goodbyes to Snape, they headed towards the Gryffindor table. As when they had walked on the train, people started to stare and whisper. Tom merely wrapped his arm around Harry's waist, just daring anyone to step up to them.

"Hey," the Slytherin said taking a seat. Harry joined him quickly so as not to draw even more attention to them. They'd already gotten enough to last them a lifetime.

"Hey, anything interesting happen? The hat say something," Harry asked hopefully wanting the subject nowhere near them and their late arrival.

"About the same as last year," Hermione said watching the two. Harry could tell it was taking every ounce of self-control for her not to ask them any questions. Tom must have noticed this to, because when the girl opened her mouth the Slytherin shoved a treacle tart into Harry's.

"You really love these, don't you," he asked to loudly. Harry on the other hand was choking and trying to drink some pumpkin juice in order to get the food to go down rather than answering him.

"Aderes," he growled the first chance he got. The boy stared at him just as innocently as Harry had back on the front grounds and he quickly gave in, Tom's revenge done.

"What happened," Draco asked his eyes narrowed at Tom. "You two are acting to innocent and I was around Potter enough this summer to know when he's guilty." The couple looked at each other, both slightly shocked that they could be found out so easily.

"I think I'll be sending another letter to Fred and George," Tom muttered.

"I've no idea what you're talking about Draco," Harry said grabbing another tart. A thousand excuses went through his mind, not one of them sticking though. He was about to muttering something about Dobby when Dumbledore stood up, the entire hall going silent.

"The very best of evenings to you!" He let the words sink in by giving a dramatic pause.

"Why is he always like this," Tom muttered looking away. Harry couldn't see the issue, but when he turned to look at Tom, the Slytherin was looking down and blushing. When he used the mental link to see what was going through his mind, the only thing he saw was extreme embarrassment, but the why wasn't present.

"Welcome new students, I hope you are well enough prepared and for our old students, welcome back! Let us hope you don't get in trouble half as much as you did the year before."

"That was directed as us," Draco said sounding only partly shocked.

"Gee, wonder why," Ron, asked sarcastically, the three looking at Tom and Harry.

"She deserved it," Tom said in a tone leaving no room for debate. Harry didn't hear too much of the speech after that until Dumbledore mentioned the ban on Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke items. He blinked a few times looking up at the staff table, Dumbledore's eyes on him or possibly Tom.

"And finally I'd like to introduce a former collogue of mine who has agreed to take over his old post of Potions master." Harry froze.

"Potions? Potions," he asked Tom hysterically. Tom obviously hadn't been expecting the Gryffindor to turn so fast on him, he himself almost falling off the bench at Harry's action. "You never told me the taught potions!"

"Well does he honestly seem like a defender type," Tom asked defensively. Harry took another look at Slughorn while running his personality through his mind. He was the farthest thing Harry could picture as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"I guess not…"

"So don't jump to conclusions! We'll, unless-" Harry turned back to the staff table blowing his boyfriend's words off.

"This can't be good. I know Snape's on our side a good deal of the time, but there must have been some reason Dumbledore didn't want him in that position for so long."

"Because they couldn't find another potions master at Snape's level," Draco cut in. "It's easy to find someone knowledgeable in defense compared to locating a highly trained potion creator." This thought had never occurred to Harry and he suddenly felt extremely foolish. It should have been obvious given how many different defense teachers they'd had and yet it hadn't clicked in his mind at all.

"I'll forgive you this one time for being stupid," Tom said, Harry instantly glaring at him for it.

"But as you all know," Dumbledore started again as the students began quieting down once more. "Voldemort is once again at large as are a number of his death eaters." The room had quickly transformed from light and cheerful to a sullen one filled with a strong heaviness. "I cannot stress enough for all of you to follow all the rules, no matter how irksome they may seem. Also, be aware that though we have strengthened our defenses greatly, we must still be cautious, though smart. Any odd behavior or problems are to be reported to the staff and not to be dealt with by one's self." This time Harry was sure Dumbledore was staring at Tom.

"Okay, I'll take the blame for that one," he said laughing nervously. The joke really didn't reach any of them though as the reality of it all set in. Voldemort was gaining power and more than ever was the threat that surrounded them.

"We're going to have to work hard," Harry said solemnly. "Aderes, everyone, let's do our best." They all nodded silently to each other before standing up and heading to the double doors. Hermione of course ran ahead to lead the first years, the other four staying behind.

"What happen teh you two? Saw yeh was late." The four stopped even though it was obvious he was only talking to Tom and Harry.

"Caught up on the train," Aderes half lied.

"Well that ain't good! Gotta be careful yeh do! I'll see yeh in the mornin though. Got a great line up!" Waving one last time Hagrid headed towards the doors and out into the night.

"None of us are taking that class are we," Harry asked suddenly feeling horrible. As much as he adored Hagrid, he couldn't stand his class. Being forced to deal with the most dangerous creatures Hagrid could find on a weekly basis was not his idea of fun.

"We are," Tom said heading up the staircase.

"What," Harry asked snapping out of his depressing thoughts. "What do you mean 'we' ?"

"The more N.E.W.T.S you get the better. Hermione had the right idea, your schedule was weak." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So, I took it and placed you into Care of Magical Creatures. You need to know these things, they're important." Harry felt like he'd been cursed wondering if Tom had signed him up for any other classes he didn't know about.

"You could have at least asked me," he muttered following after Tom. The Slytherin merely smirked at him though and began running towards the tower before Harry could do anything to him.

(X)

"Are you ready for tomorrow," Tom asked running his fingers through a few stray locks of Harry's hair. The others had all fallen asleep long ago leaving the two to themselves.

"I guess…honestly I'm just glad to be back. I mean…last year ended on a real bad note," he said choking on his laugh, a bit of sadness going through him as he remembered it all. "But you came back…so it's okay."

"So you did miss me," he snickered wrapping his arms around Harry's neck.

"Do you honestly believe I'd have jumped you like I did if I hadn't? I'm just glad that everything's back to the way it used to be…" Silence settled in around them, Tom watching as Harry drifted off to sleep. This was going to be a difficult year for the both of them, Tom having gotten his body back, stronger even than the year before, however Dumbledore had already planned to tell Harry everything. All his secrets were going to be laid bare and then the decision would be made if Harry would stay with him.

"Yeah, you like tackling things," he said quietly knowing no one else could hear him. He closed his eyes tightening his grip around his boyfriend. For now, at least he could be happy.

**(X)**

Night passed uneventfully, Harry having come to terms with his added class as soon as he'd gotten into the warm bed with Tom. By the time morning rolled around Harry was in a much better mood, even grateful that now he wouldn't need to feel awkward around Hagrid, because he'd be taking his class.

"I wonder what he'll teach today," Harry wondered aloud.

"Something that's bound to kill us," Tom suggested. Harry rolled his eyes at him, but couldn't quite bring himself to disagree with his line of thinking. Sixth year Care of Magical Creatures was no doubt going to be a bit dangerous.

They took their seats at the table, all of them at the Gryffindor one of course, which seemed to throw a few of the teachers off for some odd reason.

"Alright, let's see," McGonagall, said looking over Hermione's list. "Clear for everything," she smiled tapping Hermione's paper. The girl snatched her schedule, said a quick goodbye, and was off. "Neville…" She took a few minutes sorting him out, giving him a compliment before sending him off. "And…I see we've two new Gryffindor students," she said looking at Draco and Aderes.

"No, we were here last year," Tom, grinned at her. "Might I say great job on choosing the beds in Gryffindor tower?" McGonagall's face turned red and she grabbed Harry's grades.

"Godrick Gryffindor chose those," she said looking the grades over. "Well my, my Potter. You're well on your way to becoming an Auror, well done." She smiled brightly at him handing him his schedule.

"And myself, a dark lord," Tom grinned showing Snape his paper.

"I see you've failed everything." Tom froze a second before turning to look at the potions master, who would no doubt be dead within a few minutes. Snape handed him both papers back though and went off to do Draco's.

"But I passed everything with an O," he said death glaring the teacher. "How can that possibly be failing?" He ignored Tom though and walked off after giving Draco his papers and a compliment.

"Aderes, why don't you show Professor Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked.

Tom shot the Transfiguration teacher an evil glare and shoved the paper into his bag.

"Why so he can laugh? Let's get to class Harry." He grabbed a piece of toast and walked out of the hall angrily.

"Well I tried," the teacher sighed. This had caught Harry's attention though and he stood up before McGonagall could leave.

"Wait, professor! I know it's not really any of my business, but…why should he show Dumbledore?"

"That's Professor Dumbledore Mr. Potter and to answer your question. Why would you show Sirius," she asked with a strained smile. Harry didn't answer and she went on her way to finish up the other students schedules.

"What was that about," he wondered. "I'll see you guys in Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said quickly going after his boyfriend. When he got outside, he saw Tom seated in the grass, only two other students out there with him. Hagrid was behind his hut doing something, what Harry could only guess.

"Aderes don't run off like that, we get worried." He took a seat beside him waving to the other two Hufflepuffs in their class.

"She shouldn't have said anything." Harry tried to provoke more of an answer out of him, but of course got nowhere. Sighing he was just about to lie down when Hagrid finally came out from behind his hut with a chain.

"What did he…?" Harry's stomach did a small turn, flames shooting out into the sky. "He didn't…"

"He did," Tom, muttered heading towards Hagrid, one hand near his wand. "Hagrid, you know these things are dangerous right?"

"Why does Dumbledore keep Okaying these lessons," Harry groaned more to himself than anyone.

"Don't scare him," Hagrid scolded. "Now stay back o bit, yeah that' should be fine." Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing let alone how any of this was 'fine'. He was suddenly wishing he was safely back in the common room with Ron and Draco wondering how he'd make it up to Hagrid for not taking his class. "Now then! This is a Chimera," he said brightly, the animal tugging at its bonds as he spoke. "It's uh, kind of dangerous, but after I teach yeh some things won't be any problem at all."

"I really," Aderes started then stopped himself. "Okay, well you wouldn't think anyone would be keeping a Basilik or an Acromantula either," he coughed nervously. Harry shot him a glare, the other two Hufflepuffs looking at them curiously.

"He didn't mean anything by that," Harry said quickly. "So um Hagrid, what are we going to do with the eh…Chimera," he said his energy dying down as he saw the size of the claws coming out of its hindquarter feet.

One long and painful hour later Tom and Harry staggered into the castle beside the other two Hufflepuff. Things had been going fine for the first part of the class, but turned ugly towards the middle of it.

"Let's hope we live to see each other at lunch," Tom said to the two Hufflepuffs. They nodded at him before heading to their own class, Tom and Harry towards Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"I can't believe he brought a Chimera in on the first day…that wasn't fair," Harry coughed wiping some of the ashes off his robes. A burnt area on the robes by his leg made an odd crunching noise and fell to the ground showing off all of Harry's pants leg.

"New style," Tom asked evilly. Harry scowled pulling his wand out and fixing it.

"What in the world happened to you," Ron asked in shock as him and Draco came into view.

"The Chimera melted the chains halfway through class," Harry muttered shaking the rest of the ashes out of his hair. "It was our job to catch it, which consisted of four students and Hagrid running through part of the Forbidden Forest and paralyzing it." They began their trek to the next class. "I happened to almost get a direct hit from its fire."

"That's what it looks like," Ron said shaking his head. "Am I ever glad I didn't pick that class…"

"I'd like to say the same thing," Harry said darkly. Hermione joined up with them soon enough promising to make a potion that'd heal Harry and Tom's burns. They all walked into the room then Tom refusing to budge out of the Gryffindor section and taking a seat besides Harry. Draco seemed just as stubborn, but in the end gave up sitting with the other Slytherin, only to be followed by Ron. By this point Snape gave up and just slammed the door walking into the middle of the room his eyes going over each of them.

Snape was about to say something when Tom raised his hand into the air. Looking annoyed the potions master didn't seem sure if he should acknowledge him or not, but in the end decided to.

"Yes, Aderes," he asked with a sigh.

"I love the pictures," he said nodding to a few of them. This brought Harry's attention to them of course and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. The pictures were grotesque to say the least, many people seeming to be in complete bouts of pain or cursed in ways he couldn't even begin to imagine.

"Yes, I assume your room has near the same thing," Snape asked trying to hold back his odd smile.

"Much worse actually." He left it at that staring at the ceiling, which Harry noticed had been bewitched to look as if it was storming, dementors flying around it, only visible when the fake lightning flashed.

"Wonderful…"

"Now then class I wish to have your full attention, keep your books away," he warned, the few kids who'd removed them shoving them quickly back under their desk. "The Dark Arts is always changing, much like a many-headed monster-"

"-Which Hagrid happens to have for sixth year Care for Magical Creatures-," Tom interrupted Snape's speech. Snape instantly turned on Tom his eyes narrowed to slits. Harry had never seen Snape this angry before and was partly glad that it was directed at Tom rather than himself.

"Do you wish to spend your first weekend in detention," he demanded acidly.

"Just thought it could help your demonstration. Many of the fools in this class don't even know what you're talking about, but believe me. Bring that thing in; they'll get the full reality of it all."

"Do not make me call in your parents," he growled at him. Tom blew him off of course, but Harry thought he noticed a bit of sadness flash through their link. He realized quickly enough the Slytherin was still sore at the teacher from breakfast when he'd made the comment about his grades.

"Might as well, bet they could teach the subject better than you can." Everyone in the class went silent, all eyes turned now on the two. Harry wished he were far away again, but instead decided to try to defuse the situation.

"Aderes, just apologize, you can get him later," he said quietly pretending to look at one of the pictures.

'You have nothing to do with this so shut up.'

'I'm just trying to keep you from getting in trouble; you can easily corner him later and get a better answer. Just stop this, please for me?'

'Like I'd do something like that for you.' If Harry had been cursed he still wouldn't have been more shocked than he was now. He turned to Tom staring at him for a second before standing up and moving over to where Hermione was sitting.

"Stupid git," he said under his breath. "Was only trying to help him." Hermione looked at him worriedly before returning her gaze back to Tom and Snape fighting.

"Looks like you've been abandoned again Keaira," he smirked. "Shall I give you detention then?"

"I'll be quiet," he said looking away.

"Thank you." Snape finished up his speech looking quite pleased with himself, not that Harry was really paying attention. He kept looking at Tom from time to time who seemed more interested in Snape's desk than he did the actual lecture, so much it seemed that when Snape ordered them to practice nonverbal spells he didn't even budge from his seat. "I said group," he said coldly stopping in front of Tom's desk again. Emotion over coming common sense Harry walked back down to the desk grabbing Tom by the arm.

"He has a partner professor," he said jerking Tom out of his seat. The heir hadn't expected this at all and instead of getting up, both of them smashed into the desk beside them, Harry of course on bottom.

"So it would seem," he said turning somewhat pale and walking off.

"Guess he still can't agree to our relationship." Harry had to keep from laughing at the look on Snape's face while he pulled himself out from under Tom. "Come on Aderes, we practiced this a bit during the summer with Hermione remember?"

"I remember…"

"So we should be able to do it here. In fact this could be the first lesson for the D.A. class…" He nodded at the thought deciding it was the perfect first lesson. When he saw that Tom was making no attempts to stand up himself he sighed and started pulling him up. "What's wrong with you?"

"I got carried away."

"You always get carried away, now come on, let's practice before he starts taking points away." Tom didn't seem to understand why Harry was still talking to him after their small fight since he hadn't apologized. "Look, we both do stupid things, if we keep getting irked at each other for them; we're never going to be happy so let's just go practice." He nodded dully and finally Harry got him to a clear spot where they began to practice.

Tom of course was quick to get the nonverbal spells down without breaking a sweat, Harry himself trying hard not to just throw his wand and walk out of the class. He was so used to being able to do things in Defense Against the Dark Arts that others couldn't he almost jinxed Hermione when she managed to get it down before him.

"I think you need to think about what you just said," Tom laughed having been the one to grab Harry's arm and point his wand away from their friend. "You're thinking too much into this. Just take a few deep breaths and relax."

"I know, but you're rubbing off on me," he said angrily. "I'd have never thought about jinxing one of my friends for doing better than me until you came along."

"So I'm a bad influence, you're quite the horrible one yourself on a future dark lord." They both glared at each other before Harry took his spot again and readied his wand. He took the few deep breaths Tom had told him to and nodded.

"Congringo!" Harry mentally tried to scream out the spell, but once again he failed, his body being thrown back and connecting with the desk behind him. Scowling he slammed his wand on the ground and closed his eyes trying to calm himself. Tom was by him in a second trying to make sure he was okay. "Sorry, didn't think you'd go that far…"

"Shut up," he said grabbing onto Tom's wrist. The boy looked at him curiously before deciding he didn't care and sat down besides Harry.

"Are you going to be that mean to me from now on," he asked coyly. 'Am I going to have to teach you a lesson?' The words went through Harry's mind a few seconds before finally sinking in. He was getting enraged over nothing, there were tons of spells that he hadn't learned quickly, and even the patronus had taken him a few tries with Lupin.

"Do you think Sirius and Lupin could send me pointers," he finally asked.

"I think they would, and I think Hermione and I should be able to make up for their absence of hands on training." He nodded and got to his feet.

"Sorry." He held his hand out to him.

"Well, I just think you're having a hard time accepting Snape as your defense teacher…I think I am too." Harry tried to figure out what he meant by that, but the link had been shut and Tom was back on his feet his wand out. "Ready to give it another try?"

"Yeah," Harry smiled grabbing his wand.

**(TBC)**

Finally! The update is complete and I can put this up before people start carrying out the death threats.

Alas, I failed to update by Christmas…I wanted to and it didn't work. Sorry. So I'd like to wish everyone a late Merry Christmas and of course a Happy New Year. A Happy Chinese New Year, Kwanza, Hanukah, and any other holiday I may have forgotten. I don't think I have…but yeah there we go. Enjoy your holidays!


	12. Questionable Emotions

Alright, well. I'd like to say happy New Year it's the first day of 2008 and I'm of course out of it. Tom's really starting to amuse me right now…I think if Harry hadn't gotten used to all the hell he is capable of doing the year before, he'd have ripped all his hair out already. Poor Harry….oh well.

Notes: Nothing much, I think that Harry needs a pat on the head and the usual **(X)** time jump and or pov change.

Warnings: It's shonen ai.

Chapter,12: Questionable Emotions

"Destroying Potter until he is no longer able to move is not the assignment," Snape drawled from beside them. Harry couldn't believe Snape was already trying to confront Tom again since he knew how dangerous it was to push the heir, which the professor has successfully been doing from the start of the day.

"It's none of your business how I treat my boyfriend," Tom snapped. Harry, the whole class for that matter, could easily tell that Tom was going to go off soon. What bothered Harry was not so much that Tom was about to go off though, but what had started this entire fight in the first place. Surely Snape hadn't just woken up that morning and decided he was going to ruin Tom's day.

"Really-"

"Professor, it's my own fault for not being able to do the spell," Harry said quickly swallowing his pride. He decided that he'd get over it soon enough, that Tom was much more important and he didn't want to see him in detention or worse, thrown out of the school.

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion, Potter," he said eyes narrowing.

"Why are you giving Aderes such a hard time," Harry demanded. "You've done nothing, but insult him all day!" Once again, the class had fallen silent. While Harry had meant to keep those thoughts to himself until he was alone with his boyfriend, his urge to defend his lover had won out.

"Both of you seem to be acting quite brave today," he said eyeing both of them. "Let's see how brave you really are though, detention, both of you, Saturday," he said smugly. The two students looked at him in shock as he walked off to examine the rest of their classmates work.

"I don't believe that just happened," Harry said quietly. Tom didn't seem to be paying attention to him though, instead focusing on Snape. Scared he was going to do something he'd regret, Harry grabbed Tom's wand and headed over to his desk. This of course Tom did notice and Harry was sure if the bell hadn't rung, the Slytherin would have killed him.

The five of them left the room quickly, Draco and Harry pulling Tom with them, Hermione holding their bags. They finally released him when they were a good distance away from the room.

"Who the hell does he think he is," Tom screamed. The group of students near them quickly took off running. "I've helped him out a lot! I'm the reason he's not kissing Voldemort's feet!" He started pacing, both of his fists clenched tightly. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" No one really had an answer, though Harry was just as curious to know that himself. Yes, Tom was often a pain to everyone and driving everyone closer to their doom, but Snape had been the one person Tom was constantly helping.

"H, Harry," the boy asked. Harry hadn't even noticed that anyone had come near them given Tom's outburst until he saw the boy holding the envelope and that the boy happened to be Jack Slopper from his quidditch team from the year before. He held the letter up just as Tom began screaming at Draco about some kind of potion that caused painful deaths.

"Eh, thanks," he said trying to think of some way to keep Tom from destroying Hogwarts or at least that was his until he saw the hand writing on the parchment. "Aderes! It's from Dumbledore," he said waving the parchment in front of his face.

Suddenly all seemed to go right in the world; Tom was no longer mad, rather quite excited looking as he jerked the letter out of Harry's grasp and began ripping it open.

"Scary," Ron whispered to Harry who couldn't help nodding in agreement. His boyfriend seemed to be have suddenly developed a split personality or at the least a case of bi polar.

Dear Aderes and Harry;

I would like to start our private lessons this Saturday. 8 p.m. will be just fine. Aderes please do not scar my teachers; hope you are both enjoying your first day back at school.

Your's sincerely;

Albus Dumbledore

P.S. Congratulations on your O.W.L.S. Let us enjoy some acid pops in celebration.

"Isn't that great?" Tom, asked after they'd both read it, but to Harry he looked quite pale. He of course refused to talk about it though, instead walking off talking about all the homework they needed to finish.

"He's really starting to worry me," Harry said when he was out of hearing range. "It's like he's constantly on edge today."

"He mentioned something about Dumbledore's lessons last night," Draco offered. "Something about you making a decision." This was news to Harry. No one had mentioned to tell him about any decisions that needed to be made.

"I wonder if this has to do about last year…he was terrified about me remembering the Chamber of Secrets, but I never really got a clear answer as to why…considering that wasn't him doing it."

"Just be careful Harry, he might just…lose control or something," Hermione said nervously.

"I trust him." She bit her lip as they headed into the common room, where Tom had already set up an area they could practice and do their homework at.

"Wow," she said looking at where Tom had moved the chairs away and placed a couple of throw pillows on the floor. "Looks great Aderes…"

"Thanks. Come on let's practice Harry. We'll do that thing's homework later."

"Right." He placed his bag down on the floor and pulled out his wand. "Let's start." Thus, the first half of their first break was spent with Harry and Tom practicing nonverbal spells while the other three did their homework. About halfway through, Hermione left so she could visit the library before her next class leaving the four boys alone. Harry on the other hand managed to convince Tom he needed to start on his homework while Draco practiced the nonverbal spells.

"Okay, Hermione was using her potions book to explain this too," Ron said.

Nodding Harry pulled his Defense and Potions book out.

"What page?"

"Eh forty three I think," Ron said flipping through his own book. Draco let out a loud scream causing both boys to look up, a blue blast coming from Tom's wand and in their direction. Both Gryffindors threw themselves to the ground the spell hitting Harry's potion book and sending it out the window.

"TOM!" He jumped up running over to the window just in time to see the Chimera tear into it and follow up by turning it into ashes. "…"

"Bloody hell! That was a strong…" Ron started, but went quiet seeing Harry's glare.

"What in the world is wrong with you? Now what am I supposed to use in Potions?"

"I'm sure Slughorn'll let you borrow one…I'll buy you a new copy…"

"That's beside the point," he growled at him as he closed the distance between them. "You've been randomly snapping all day, what's your problem?" Tom looked shocked that Harry was calling him down on something, but what was he supposed to do? He couldn't allow Tom to continue acting this way. None of them would make it through the day alive if the heir kept it up. "Well?"

"I think we better head to class." These were the last words Harry had expected to hear.

"We have another break," he said calmly folding his arms across his chest.

"No, we have history," he said quickly grabbing his bag and heading for the portrait. Harry however remained rooted in place wondering if he should just throw himself out the window after his book. He absolutely hated history beyond any other class that Tom could have signed him up.

"WHY NOT DIVINATION?" he screamed grabbing his own bag and running after the heir.

'Because Divination is useless for witches and wizards,' he answered him through the bond. 'It'll be fine; just don't have issues during the final this year.' Harry had to fight back the urge to punch his boyfriend in the face once he'd managed to catch up.

"I can't believe you did this to me! You could have at least asked me about this one!"

"In order to defeat the future, you must conquer the past," he said smiling at him oddly. "Sixth year is the study of dark lord and ladies of the past." Harry was once again shocked. "Anything more to say?"

"No…" Smirking the heir walked into the room, Harry following behind him. The first lesson didn't go badly at all; even more surprising to Harry was that he actually enjoyed it quite much. Even with the dead monotone teacher dragging on and on with the subject, he just couldn't find it boring. At some points, he even found himself excited when the teacher brought up they'd be discussing battles that happened between the dark forces. "I never knew half of those people even existed," he laughed as the two of them walked out of the room.

"That's because you never paid attention or read when it came to history," Tom said flatly.

"Well, at least it's worth listening to now." He grinned at the heir evilly, dodging a hit from Tom's book bag and running to the great hall. They were halfway into the hall when Tom once again switched his mood suddenly slowing his pace, even falling behind Harry a few seconds later. Sighing Harry gave a small nod and turned just in time to find himself pinned against the wall.

"T-"

"I'm sorry about all this…I just really want to see you live…" He lifted up his right hand stroking Harry's cheek. "I make stupid mistakes sometimes. I hope in the end, they won't cause me to lose you."

"I told you I'd never abandon you okay?" He grabbed Tom's hand using one of the heir's own moves against him and kissed it. "We've been over this time and time again, no matter….scratch that, as long as you don't join Voldemort or kill one of our friends I won't leave you."

"So I can kill anyone else?" he asked sounding far too hopeful for Harry's liking.

"Not Dumbledore or Sirius."

"Deal."

"Tom," Harry sighed grabbing him by the wrist so he couldn't get too far. "Why don't you just tell me now what you're so scared of having me find out?" Tom looked at him silently for a moment before smiling oddly at him again.

"If Dumbledore isn't holding me back, I might just snap." Harry hadn't expected that for an answer, letting go of Tom's arm due to the slight shock. The Slytherin just shrugged at him moving towards the hall, but Harry followed eventually catching up and entwining his fingers with Tom's own.

**(X)**

"Ah finally! Potions!" Tom said getting the few dozen students' standing around attention. Harry himself could only shrug helplessly at Hermione's glare, Tom had been completely decent during their break after lunch and so he had no intentions to destroy his good mood now. The heir had helped him through the rest of his homework and had spent the rest of the time lounging in Harry's lap talking about how much blackmail he had on Snape.

"Let him enjoy himself," he whispered to her. It was not until Slughorn opened the chamber door though that he remembered that Tom hated this new teacher. "On second thought…." His stomach sank as Tom marched across the way and over to the professor.

'Don't mime him our first class,' he mentally warned, but he was instantly put off guard as the smell of treacle tart, a broom stick, and the unmistakable scent that belonged to Tom washed over him. "Oh wow…" He took a seat next to the Slytherin blinking dumbly.

"I can't believe he put this in here," he hissed. The sound of course snapped Harry back to reality where he realized that Tom was glaring so intensely at the cauldron he was shocked it hadn't exploded.

"What's wrong with it? It smells good," Harry, said a slight blush crossing his face.

"Good? Good? The creator of these things should be getting the dementor's kiss," he screamed. Taken aback all Harry could do was look at him a frown on his face.

"Does this have to do with what happened at Fred and George's joke shop?"

"Just drop it," he growled in Parseltongue. Harry quickly obeyed, but when he looked at Draco, the boy nodded to him when Tom wasn't looking before turning back to Ron.

'He knows something,' Harry thought sneaking a look at his boyfriend. He was going to have to find some way to get Draco alone so he could question him about it. His thoughts were interrupted once more though by the teacher walking in, still looking quite nervous.

"Alright, scales, potion kits, and copies of Advanced Potion-Making everyone." The second the words left the teacher's mouth Harry closed his eyes and raised his hand.

"Umm sir…?"

"Yes, Harry m'boy?"

"He's not yours," Tom growled. Harry shot Tom a warning glare before redirecting his attention back to the teacher.

"My dear boyfriend sent my book flying out a window and the Chimera that professor Hagrid is keeping ate it…" The room went silent, the only sounds coming from the bubbling inside the cauldrons around them. Regardless, the only thing going through Harry's mind was if the sudden silence was due to what Tom had done to his book or that he'd randomly admitted to the class that he was indeed dating the Slytherin.

"Well…I'm sure you could borrow a book until you can write to Flourish and Blotts…Books are in the back…."

"Thank you sir." He stood up walking into the back room, grabbed a book from the pile and headed back to his seat.

'You do realize what you've just done, right?' Tom asked him at length.

'All the Gryffindors know anyway, I don't care.' Even though Tom seemed to leave it at that, Harry was soon feeling a good amount of warmth and love through their bond.

"Now then-"

"- Just so you know, you're down ten points, because of this," Tom scowled jerking his thumb at the nice smelling cauldron. The professor paled slightly, but nodded before going on with his lecture.

"Of course…" He looked away from their table nervously towards the other students. "I've taken the liberty to prepare these potions ahead of time in hopes that you'd be able to tell me what they are. Even if you've yet to make them, I'm sure you've heard of each of them…" He trailed off when he saw the look on Tom's face again and quickly walked to the other side of the room. "Well then, can anyone tell me what these potions are?" he asked hopefully. Of course, Hermione's hand went straight up into the air as it always did, beating even Tom's this time.

"Veritaserum, it's a truth potion," she explained happily. "It makes the drinker speak nothing, but the truth, it's also colorless and odorless."

"Yeah, Umbridge used it all the time last year," Harry, muttered staring down at the book he'd just taken from the pile. He poked at it half-heartedly hoping Slughorn would not end up like Umbridge had. Even if the professor used people to get connections, Harry didn't think he was anywhere near as bad as Umbridge was, had been.

"Very good! Now this one," he motioned to the next cauldron, but Hermione's hand was already up high in the air waving back and forth.

"It's Polyjuice Potion sir," she said quickly.

"So it is," he beamed at her. "And this one?"

"Amortentia," she said loudly, which Harry noticed made Tom cringe. He couldn't understand why his boyfriend was acting so oddly over this, but he was determined to figure it out.

"Yes, yes and I'm sure you can tell me what it is does," he said his smile growing all the more.

"Of course! It's the most powerful love potion in the world!" Harry could swear he heard a snap and thankfully found himself holding Tom's arm back. The Slytherin at some point had moved to shove the cauldron forward off the table, but thanks to the feeling had somehow managed to stop him.

"Aderes…" Tom of course looked away silently, but at least Harry knew that this had to do with love potions after all. Something must have happened at some point in his life to cause him to hate the things so much, but what?

"Mr. Keaira?" Slughorn asked looking at him. "Just what do you think you're doing?" Harry had no idea if Slughorn gaining a bit of a backbone at the moment was a good thing or not, but seeing the flames shoot up in the heir's eyes wasn't. He quickly stood up jerking Tom forward until he stumbled forward, Harry using this to his advantage to get him out the door.

"Sorry professor," he called after him shutting the door behind him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tom screamed his fist hitting the wall inches from Harry's face. The Gryffindor had, had enough of all these odd acts and random switches of emotions.

"You're going to tell me what the 'hell' is going on," Harry growled back at him taking a step forward. "What is it with you and love potions?" Harry had never seen his boyfriend's eyes hold so much hatred as they did at that moment, but he refused to back down. He told himself none of this was going to end until he found out the answer. "I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wro-"

"Don't lie to me! I can see through our bond just like you can now," he screamed cutting him off. "Stop excluding me from things. You know my life story…what happened?" When he refused to say a word Harry sighed and grabbing Tom's arm pulled him down onto the floor with him. "We're not leaving here until I get an answer."

"You're not using me as an excuse to skip potions," he hissed, but Harry was not going to hear anything of it. He sat there emotionlessly looking up at the ceiling, both hands tightly wrapped around Tom's arm. "Let go," he demanded rage leaking into his tone. He sounded like he had the first time he'd taken a solid form and pinned Harry in the hall a year before.

"I drew blood on the roof," Harry said absently. "Don't underestimate me or did you forget that you didn't want a dumb boyfriend?" Tom was suddenly looking at Harry in shock, having obviously not expected that as his comeback. Defeated he muttered something Harry didn't quite catch and yanked his arm away.

"You're so determined to see what's wrong?" he asked hollowly getting to his feet. "Fine, come here, I'll show you why I hate the stuff." That said he reentered the classroom, Harry forced to run after him to keep up. Both of them ignoring the professor's protest, Tom grabbed a potion flask from his desk dipped it into the cauldron and held it out to Harry. "Watching?"

"A-" But the heir wasn't paying attention. With an odd looking of satisfaction, he grabbed a cup to remove some of the potion and began to pour it onto his hand. A green light shot through the room though sending the cup flying, including its contents onto the floor. Everyone turned to see what had just happened, no one had their wands out, but Harry noticed Draco's was suddenly within reach in his pocket.

"Enough!" Slughorn roared. No one had expected this. All eyes were back on the professor. He removed his own wand cleaning up the mess with one swift movement as well as emptying the cauldron of love potion. "Enough," he repeated quietly this time. "While I may not be Professor Snape, I will not tolerate fights and outbursts in my class. If any of you wish to keep this nonsense up, I will send you all to detention. Good." Slughorn gave a quick nod taking in the whole class. "Perhaps you will all feel better once I've explained the prize for today."

"Prize?" Harry asked noticing the attention his boyfriend was suddenly giving the professor. Everything that had just happened was making his thoughts whirlwind, a prize would be something nice and simple to focus on. Perhaps he could even forget all the chaos for a little while so he could manage a decent potion.

Harry took his seat beside his boyfriend then hoping nothing else was going to go wrong. He wasn't sure if he could take it. He might finally join Tom in his loss of sanity and remove the heir from the living world.

"Yes, what is your name my lass?" Slughorn asked looking to Hermione.

"Hermione Granger sir," she said happily.

"Do you know what this last cauldron has?"

"Felix Felicis," she replied in the same happy tone. Tom looked somewhat annoyed now which in response Harry grabbed his hand once more stroking the top of it gently in an attempt to calm him down. A mellow feeling went through the bond, either Tom was relaxing or trying to throw Harry off, the Gryffindor hoped for the prior. After all, he hadn't been lying. If Tom was going to act like this day in and out, he really didn't know if he could survive the year like this.

'Why are you even taking potions if you knew things like this were going to happen?' Harry mentally asked him. There was a strange amount of emotions mixed together before Tom finally replied.

'I never finished my sixth year,' he replied. 'I want to finish this time and pass this old man's class.' Shocked Harry looked at his boyfriend as if he'd grown another head. With how much Tom had known about the classes for this year, he'd never expected that Tom hadn't finished them.

"Yes so you see," Slughorn said dragging Harry back into reality. "The person who can make the best Draught of Living Death will be walking out of class with a bottle of Felix Felicis, a small one, but one that will allow you to have twelve hours of good luck," he said happily, almost as if he'd completely forgotten Tom's previous outbreak. "However, it is banned from organized competitions, sporting events, examinations and elections so…it is to be used on a normal day so that it can become a most extraordinary one!"

Everyone in the class seemed to be quite happy with the turn of events, now more than ever happy to go on with this lesson. Snape had never offered them a potion to help improve their lives or even one of their lessons for that matter.

"Better?" he asked Tom regardless of how careful he was trying to be around him at the moment. He felt like one wrong word could set the heir off and he had no idea what was causing it to begin with or what triggered the mood swings.

"Extremely, I'm going to need it for Saturday," Tom muttered. "What page Professor?" Even Tom seemed surprised that he'd just called Slughorn "professor", but the teacher passed over it quickly.

"Ten. Page ten Mr. Keaira." He walked over to their table then a strained smile on his face. "And I do expect to see a good potion out of you." Tom growled at him, regardless of not looking up and the professor quickly moved away.

"Aderes," Harry sighed shaking his head. Somehow, the scene amused him though so he didn't push the matter as he opened up his own textbook. Blinking he pulled the book a bit closer to his eyes so he could attempt to read the words better, as someone had written all over the inside of this one.

"Don't ruin your eyes any more than they are," Tom warned from beside him.

"Right…" He set the book down and began taking out the ingredients he would need to prepare the potion. He noticed that the others were all ahead of him, Draco and Hermione randomly helping Ron when he needed it. Tom on the other hand didn't look like he would ever look in Harry's direction again so he didn't even bother to ask for help, instead deciding to rely on his book. 'Maybe I can finally produce a good potion without anyone's help,' he thought to himself happily until he looked down at the scribbled on book. 'This might take a while…'

He was getting nowhere with his beans as he'd attempted to cut them a good amount of times failing horribly and looked back at the book to see if he'd missed a step somewhere along the way. Upon doing this, he noticed the words 'Crush with flat side of silver dagger, releases juice better than cutting," written in it. He looked to the directions in the book to the scribbled ones frowning; he was getting nowhere with cutting and so decided nothing could really go wrong with attempting the other choice. He brought the dagger down smashing one bean flat only to see a ton of liquid come suddenly pouring out of it. Blinking he wasted no time in adding the liquid into his cauldron and looking back down at the book.

'Okay this time it says to only stir it counterclockwise, but the previous owner says to do that only seven times and then add one clockwise stir…" He looked over at Tom's potion, which of course looked perfect, to Hermione's who was nearly as nice as Tom's, Draco's nearly there as well, Ron's looked like he might have dropped his book into the mixture. Frowning he looked back at his own pale pink potion and decided to give it a try. He counted out the times he should stir it and then did the clockwise turn then another count. By the time he was finished his potion was as pale as Tom's.

"And time's…up! Please stop stirring!" Harry sat down in his chair looking over at Tom who was curiously looking at his cauldron.

"You did good. I guess our extra practice this summer finally paid off." He nodded approvingly before beginning to put his potion ingredients away back into his bag.

"Well done, well done," Slughorn beamed looking at the cauldrons where Harry and his group was at. "How wonderful, two perfect, two nearly perfect and well…" He ignored Ron's completely. "Wonderful, wonderful display, it looks like we have a tie over here," he said proudly handing both Harry and Tom a tiny bottle of Felix Felicis. "Bravo, Harry you've clearly inherited your mother's talent for potions!"

'In the past week or so,' Harry snickered to Tom, who seemed just as amused as he was. 'Just wait until he tells Snape. He'll be trying to convince him that you did it all for me.' The Slytherin nodded placing the last of his supplies away while Harry slipped his own book into his bag. Somehow, he'd managed to keep the book a secret from Tom, regardless of having read it during most of the class. He figured if he could keep him away from it, than he could at least make his boyfriend feel like all his teaching in potions was paying off.

"I think we should just share it, there's more than enough for us to all have at least 4 or so hours of good luck," Tom said as they all walked out of the classroom. The heir had finally calmed down to Harry's delight and he was walking comfortably beside him, his hand once again holding his boyfriend's.

"Sounds good, we can wait for Christmas break and have a wonderful holiday," Harry suggested. This made everyone suddenly seem a lot more cheery, as Hermione had been glaring at Harry every chance she got upon his receiving the potion. "Hermione, if you want I'm sure Aderes can help you with potions too…if he can give me this much help, he could make you a potions master in a day," he said grinning at her.

"Please Harry, Aderes can only beat me in Potions," she said stiffly, but Harry could see the smile on her face.

"Well he's helping me that's for sure," Ron muttered. "I can't afford to fail; mum said she'd never forgive me if my grades went back down."

"Seems you're going to need that luck potion for the rest of your school years than, eh Weasley?" Draco teased him, his arm going around Ron's waist.

"Shut up," Ron muttered looking away, his face completely red. It was true though they knew none of them would get through this year without Tom and Hermione's help.

"He took a real interest in you Hermione," Tom said suddenly. "Be careful, he can be a real unstable person." Harry looked at his boyfriend curiously, but he was still calm, which somehow set Harry off balance. Tom had been randomly switching from one emotion to another over the entire day, but he'd remained calm and relaxed since potions class had ended.

"I doubt he's dangerous," she laughed, but the Slytherin never gave her a straight answer. Instead, he just kept on walking towards the great hall allowing the others to talk about how much help they'd need.

'You don't mind helping us right?' Harry asked remembering that they'd never actually asked Tom if he was okay with helping them.

'Of course I don't, I don't need weak friends,' he replied, but Harry could tell he was doing it for the mere fact of wanting to help them.

'Of course you don't,' he snickered.

"Oh Harry," Hermione shrieked the bottom of his book bag ripping out. Harry spun around just in time to see his ink crashing onto the floor, papers and books going everywhere making the hall a complete mess.

"Darn it," Harry groaned kneeling down to pick the stuff up. "Go ahead guys, just save me a seat." The others nodded going into the Great Hall, Hermione hanging behind until the others had disappeared. She walked back over to him then and taking out her wand cleaned everything up with one swift motion. "Hey, tha-"

"I saw that book," she cut in placing her hands on her hips. Oddly enough to Harry she looked like another version of Mrs. Weasley. "Listen Harry, we had enough trouble with books for once in our lives, do you really think we need to go through it again?"

"Hermione, it's not like it's cursed, it's just a textbook someone wrote in," he said placing everything back into his bag. If the book had been talking to him then he'd have been worried.

"Harry, you don't know that and even if it is, Aderes is working really hard to improve your grades. Why don't you try to rely on yourself, you made great grades last year?"

"Because we practiced that one over the summer and I ended up setting fire to our bed," he muttered placing his bag back on his shoulder. "I didn't do it to win the potion Hermione, I did it, because I want to make Aderes proud okay?"

"Well if he finds out, do you really think he's going to be proud of you cheating?"

"It's not cheating," he said defensively. "And he isn't going to find out. If he does then I'll just have to explain it to him. Besides, don't you think we have enough problems to figure out?" Now that everything was safely back in his bag he gave her his full attention. "My boyfriend has gone mad, he has some horrible reaction to love potions, regardless if they touch him. Draco knows more about the situation then I do."

"Well that's not your fault," Hermione said quickly. "Aderes doesn't seem to tell anyone anything, besides Draco."

"And I'm so glad he has someone he can trust and can confined in," he snapped. His anger of course wasn't directed at Hermione, but his boyfriend. He'd been trying to ignore his feelings while focusing on his boyfriend's, but there was only one gritty truth at the end of it. "I'm jealous that he trusts Draco more than me," he admitted.

"You know that's not true—"

"It is. I want to gain his trust though. I have some of it—"

"You have most of it," Hermione corrected him. "He tells you things none of us would ever even guess at. He trusts Draco as his best friend. Don't confuse the two." Harry knew she was right, but not knowing what was going on didn't sit well with him. As Tom's lover, shouldn't he be trusted with everything? Granted, he didn't trust Tom with everything, mostly because it would set the heir off. Frowning he started towards the Great Hall, Hermione following. "Don't turn this into a big fight."

"I'm not Aderes. I don't care that Draco knows, I just wish I did too."

"Be glad Draco knows, if he didn't, you wouldn't have someone to help you."

That thought clicked instantly. Harry hadn't looked at the situation that way. Even if he couldn't know everything, Draco he knew could be counted on for backup.

Smiling he took a seat beside his boyfriend, Hermione showing up a few seconds later.

**TBC**

Sorry that updates are still off and on. This was an odd chapter and yet for some reason…I enjoyed writing it. That probably means lots of people will hate it. Oh well.


	13. Lessons with Dumbledore

**Warnings:**It's shonen ai, get over it

**Notes: (X)**is pov and or time jump

Chapter, 13: Lessons with Dumbledore

Harry shifted nervously looking towards the clock then back to his homework. The others had gone to the library leaving him alone in the common room once again. It seemed like they had been avoiding him the past few days, but he couldn't begin to understand why. At first it had really puzzled him, and then he'd realized what it was. With Slughorn, constantly giving him praise even though he hadn't been asking Tom for help he had a feeling his boyfriend was getting mad, perhaps even jealous of it all. Tom after all wasn't used to sharing praise with two people.

'Like I have a choice,' he thought to himself closing his eyes. He couldn't stand Tom being so cold to him, not after he'd spent most of his summer holiday worried sick over the heir. Regardless he didn't believe he had a choice anymore, he was going to have to come clean about the book or possibly risk losing Tom altogether. 'When he gets back, I'll tell him,' he thought, a sense of determination filling him. The worst thing that could happen would be that Tom threw the book out the window to the Chimera again and he'd have to borrow another one.

"Tell me what?" Tom asked walking into the common room. Harry looked, up his determination suddenly gone and being quickly replaced by dread. "Harry," he said warningly. "If I find out you've been cheating on me…"

"It's nothing like that," he said defensively. Why his boyfriend always thought he was cheating was beyond him. Was someone writing things in the bathroom about him behind his back?

"Then what's the problem?" The Slytherin closed the distances between them setting his books on the table. Smiling slightly he took a seat beside Harry, his arm going around his shoulder. "Go on. Tell your dark master what's wrong. I'll make it all better!" Scowling Harry shoved Tom's arm off.

"Who the heck have you been talking to?" he asked annoyed.

"No one, I was reading some magazine that Draco stole from your cousin. Something about being confident for being in a private school-"

"He took his Smelting's news weekly? Since when do you two read muggle writing?" Tom instantly went red turning away, obviously having no answer. "Don't read Dudley's things, it'll rot your brain." Giving in Harry dropped his head onto Tom's shoulder as he often did though. "My potion book," he said finally.

"What about it?" Tom asked in a bored tone, his hand going to Harry's hair now by mere habit it seemed.

"It's what I've been hiding and why I haven't needed any help from you. It has a ton of tricks and different ways of doing things to make the class a lot easier." Having said it at last, Harry felt a flood of relief flow through him. "Sorry," he added quickly even though he didn't honestly believe that this secret was really that bad.

"Oh, I already know about the Half-Blood prince," he said waving his free hand at the words. "It's nothing dangerous love or I'd have taken it away from you a long time ago."

"Then why have you been avoiding me," he growled his eyes flashing, hand gripping Tom's arm. He hadn't felt like this in a long time, but if Tom was able to get mad at him every time he talked to someone thinking he was cheating, he felt justified in his own anger over being ignored. "Are you actually cheating on me and need to catch me in the act to justify your own actions?"

"What?" Tom screamed jerking his arm away. "I've been studying and getting ready for tomorrow," he yelled at him. Somehow, Harry had forgotten that the very next day the two of them would be in Dumbledore's office learning strong Defense magic and everything else the headmaster thought would be useful.

"We really need to learn to communicate better," Harry, sighed leaning against his boyfriend.

"I know these pointless fights are tiring."

"Maybe we should get counseling," Harry suggested.

"Please do explain how we tell the therapist our situations. 'Well he grows up to be Voldemort, murders my parents, but I do love him! However we have communication problems,'" he said in a slightly high-pitched voice.

"Hey! I don't sound like that at all," Harry, laughed.

"Couldn't hear you; my ears can't pick up such high frequencies…" Tom let out a loud yelp then, a throw pillowing hitting him in the face. Laughing Harry got to his feet running up the steps to the boy's dorm. "Your books," Tom screamed after him, but Harry was already closing the door and hiding behind Neville's bed. When Tom walked in a few minutes later, both their books in hand, scowl on his face, Harry tackled him to the ground the first chance he got.

"You're mine," Harry growled playfully biting down on Tom's bottom lip. Somehow, the action made all his worries vanish as Tom's arms wrapped around him.

**(X)**

Finally, the day had arrived when Harry and Tom were to head to Dumbledore's office. Harry had spent the majority of his day going over his plans for the first D.A. meeting, having long given up on getting Draco alone. It seemed both Ron and Tom had teamed up, for some reason both highly suspicious and as such had done everything in their powers to keep an eye on the other two all week.

"I was thinking we should go over nonverbal spells and maybe a quick review over everything else taught last year," Harry said looking up. The silence had tipped him off that something was wrong and sure enough standing no more than three steps away was Draco frozen in place. Hermione as usual looked uneasy, while Ron and Tom glared at him just daring the poor Slytherin to take one more step. "If you guys don't stop," he growled putting down his quill. "Okay, Tom, Aderes, whatever your name is, "I AM NOT CHEATING," he screamed at him. The rest of the common room went silent as they watched their every move. "You'd think they'd be used to this already," Harry sighed.

"Harry, it's almost eight," Hermione said breaking the tension. Blinking Harry looked down at his watch confirming her words that it was indeed almost eight.

"Yeah, come on Aderes." He placed the rest of his stuff into his bag and set it beside Ron. "Watch this."

"Sure." Nodding Ron pulled the bag next to his own. Gathering himself Harry took Tom's hand and headed towards the portrait door. Somehow, the atmosphere felt heavier the second they stepped into the school halls. Halfway down the staircase Harry even began to wonder if he'd have been able to make this trip without Tom coming with him; somehow, he doubted he could have.

"-dark young man, possibly troubled, one who dislikes the questioner…" Trelawney said, her voice trailing off as she saw Tom and Harry standing in the hall. "You," she said stopping dead in her tracks.

'I'm sure she was getting a reading from you,' Harry teased mentally, physically doing his best to hold back a smile.

"Professor Trelawney, you're out…eh late," Harry finished nervously as he'd almost said 'out of the tower.' She gave the two a dirty look, one that only intensified when she noticed that they were holding hands. Glaring she shoved her cards into a robe pocket and staggered off down the hall mumbling under her breath.

"Drunken hag," Tom hissed dragging Harry towards Dumbledore's office.

"Are you ready for this," Harry asked suddenly.

Tom stopped at that taking Harry in full. The Slytherin looked at him, gave a couple of nervous shifts, a few failed attempts at saying something, and finally a quick nod.

"You said no matter what you'd stay so…let's just get this over with." That said Harry pulled Tom closer and nodded, both of them letting out a slow breath.

"You know…this isn't as serious as we're making it," Harry said looking to his boyfriend in an attempt to make things seem better. Tom merely shrugged though, which Harry took as a somewhat bad sign. It was Tom after all that knew what Dumbledore was going to be talking about, not himself and if Tom was that worried, perhaps this was a more serious situation than he had thought. "Fine, Acid pops." The gargoyle moved away quickly, the stairway to Dumbledore's office appearing within the hollowed tower and raising to the top of it instantly.

The two students made their way up the steps slowly, since Tom's legs seemed to have gone stiff upon setting foot on the first step. Harry couldn't bring himself to blame his boyfriend though, but he doubted anything the headmaster told him would cause any kind of a rift in their relationship, rather that Tom was just overly paranoid as usual.

"Last chance, anything you want to say before we go in and Dumbledore says it for you?" They were both standing in front of the door at this point. "Nothing at all?" Still the heir remained silent. "Fine." Not even waiting another second Harry grabbed the brass doorknocker and knocked.

"Are you sure you're both ready to come in?" Dumbledore asked from within the room. "Feel free to take all the time you need," he added pleasantly.

"Please, we'd be here all night," Harry said opening the door and making sure to shove Tom in first. "Don't even think of running," he warned.

"Like I'd have a chance," Tom shouted defensively, but the thoughts going through his mind was telling Harry otherwise.

"You're going to be fine," Harry said as he shut the door. Dumbledore motioned to two chairs in front of his desk and they both sat down.

"Now, before we get to the actual matters at hand…I see you both have a detention from Professor Snape," he smiled.

"Who wouldn't? That guy has completely gone mad!" Tom screamed folding his arms across his chest. The action only seemed to amuse Dumbledore all the more though causing him to chuckle.

"He just doesn't want you taking over his job, think of it as an honor."

"He was picking on me and he should be honored that I let him live," Tom growled.

"Perhaps. I would however like to congratulate you on a job well done Tom. O.W.L.S. for every subject," he said happily. Harry had never seen Dumbledore give the look he was currently giving Tom, but it made him feel somewhat jealous that his boyfriend was getting it and he wasn't.

"Just like last time," Tom replied his eyes narrowed.

"Ah, but this time you'll be finishing your sixth year." Tom 'hmped' at this, but remained quiet all the same, Dumbledore seeming to take this as a cue to go on. "Well Harry," he said turning his gaze to the Gryffindor. "I'm sure you have many questions, everything from Tom's well-kept secret to what is going on and what you have been denied of knowing." Still smiling he folded his hands in front of him on top the desk. "So, where would you like to begin?"

"Well, I'd like to know everything…so how about Tom?"

"Well, that was what I thought you would ask, but that would not be starting from the beginning, which is where stories should start," he said tilting his head slightly, something Harry knew he'd seen someone else do before.

"Well, I want to know about the necklace and him, he won't tell me anything," he said glaring at Tom. The Slytherin of course looked away pretending to be innocent as he usual did when he was in fact guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

"Alright, I'll explain to you a bit about Tom's situation and then as promised to him, about his family." There was a sharp intake of breath from Tom, but he didn't protest.

"Do you have the necklace on you Harry?"

"Of course, I keep it on me all the time as a…" his face turned red, "a good luck charm." He removed the necklace holding it out to the headmaster.

"Quite understandable." Dumbledore took the necklace from Harry and held it in front for the two of them see. "This necklace has a very interesting spell on it, one that holds time still. In Tom's first time through his sixth year he decided to drop out and instead seal himself within this." Harry stared at Dumbledore then back at Tom. When no one said anything, he sighed and stared at the back of the Slytherin's head.

"Why?"

"Because going on was pointless," Tom said still refusing to look at him, his attention rather focused on one of the portraits in the room.

"Had he stayed-"

"Voldemort wanted me to join him," Tom suddenly cut in. "He knew who I was and what I was, he wanted me on his side." Harry couldn't see Tom's face though and so turned to Dumbledore who was nodding in agreement.

"Yes, that's quite true. You see Harry; this Tom needed something to have a firm foundation, a reason to fight. While Voldemort had hatred, this Tom believed he had nothing until-"

"Don't fill his head up with hot air," Tom growled turning to face them. "He doesn't need to hear all this."

"What?" Harry demanded turning on his boyfriend. The two of them locked gazes as usual, both glaring at one another waiting to see who'd back down first. None of this seemed to bother the headmaster at all though and he kept on talking.

"The spell on the necklace would hold him there until he could find the foundation he needed," Dumbledore explained.

"And you thought I could give him that?" Harry asked the couple still locked in the staring game.

"Heavens I had no idea you'd be the one to release him Harry," Dumbledore said laughing. "No-"

"Great. Just add in more hot air," Tom said angrily getting up and deciding to pace around the room. Dumbledore merely ignored him seeming as though he was quite used to Tom's attitude, which Harry was beginning to believe he was.

"You see Harry, you came into Hogwarts an orphan, yet you were innocent and a pure blood who hated Voldemort. You had power and courage, a sense of duty and in the end were Gryffindor; you were everything Tom wanted to be."

"I'd never want to be a Gryffindor," Tom growled. "He's not everything!"

"The necklace began glowing from the second you stepped into the school. When you confronted Voldemort your first year, it seemed as though the necklace was becoming angered. When you came face to face with the memory of Voldemort during your second year, the necklace began to show life."

"The part of the necklace that answers questions appeared?" Harry asked.

"Precisely. Only by the time your fourth year came, I let slip the problem you'd gotten yourself into." Harry had to think about the 'problem' before he remembered that his fourth year was when the tri-wizard tournament had taken place. "Upon hearing you were in danger, his spirit was released, however, his solid form would take time to rebuild, even more so after the graveyard incident."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked suddenly more interested in the conversation than he had been so far. "What does he have to do with the graveyard?"

"When you were running away from Voldemort, I got in front of the last blast so you could get to the portkey," Tom muttered stroking Fawkes who quickly jumped off its perch and onto Tom's arm. It was the first time Harry had taken notice at how much at ease Tom seemed to be when in Dumbledore's office despite the constant fights the two seemed to have.

"I don't believe this," Harry said at last.

"You did the dragon thing on your own," Tom attempted, but Harry wasn't sure, how he should react. He had thought he'd completed the tournament for the most part by himself, had the right to tell Tom he could stand on his own two feet and have proof behind his claim.

"Well excuse me for thinking I can handle myself in dangerous situations," he snapped at his boyfriend.

"You can! Harry, you're always telling me to work together with everyone! You need to learn to accept help too!"

"I do," he yelled getting to his feet.

"Then how about a thank you for keeping you safe?" he screamed. Harry went to say something, but stopped realizing he was wrong and that Tom was right.

"Done?" Dumbledore, asked calmly. Harry looked at the headmaster who was examining his fingernails and back to Tom.

"Sorry…and thanks."

"About time." Despite the words though he looked a lot more relieved than he had a few minutes before.

"You're a git," Harry growled.

"I'm glad you two have a healthy relationship," Dumbledore said standing up. "I believe I've told you enough of what you've wanted to know for one night Harry. Tom, are you ready to begin your half then?" Tom nodded. "And now may I say, we get to see the beginning of this story…and you look quite cute in your pose," he said with a wink. It took a second for Harry to realize he was talking about the fact that Tom had one arm around Harry, Fawkes on the other, and Harry had one of his own arms around Tom's waist.

"You're pushing it," Tom growled at the headmaster warningly.

"Alas, years of threats and I'm still alive!" Tom opened his mouth to counter the remark, but Fawkes bit down on his ear before flying back to his perch squawking almost as if the bird was teasing him. "Now, if you'd just come near the Pensieve," the headmaster laughed.

"One day, one day I will eat your bird," Tom hissed. There were more words exchanged, but Harry was not paying attention, now more focused on the Pensieve than on their playful bickering. He was not fond of Pensieves at all and hoped beyond anything that mind magic would not be involved during this viewing of the story.

"Harry?" Said boy looked up, two worried expressions meeting him. "Are you alright?" the headmaster asked obviously concerned.

"I don't like Pensieves, that's all," he said shaking his head. "I'll be fine."

"Yes, you'll be entering the Pensieve with Tom and myself and even more so with permission. You'll be alright," he said smiling.

"I don't like them for what they can show," he muttered.

"Well, you'll being to understand why Tom has been moody as we get farther into our meetings. With that in mind, I think it will be well worth facing your fear."

"Right…so whose memory is this?" Harry asked trying to change the subject.

"Bob Ogden." Harry quickly looked at Tom who shrugged, which instantly made Harry feel a lot better.

"So it's not someone I'm supposed to know about," Harry laughed.

"Nor would I expect you to," Dumbledore said as he poured the silvery-white substance into the Pensieve. "He worked for the ministry for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." At this point Tom took his place beside Harry and the headmaster. "He is now dead, so do not go looking for him Tom." The heir once again said nothing. "Alright, let us begin our journey!"

Once again, before Harry could even prepare himself, Tom had shoved him into the Pensieve headfirst. His footing now gone, his breath taken, he tumbled through the air until he was suddenly trying to get his balance back, blinding sunlight hitting him in the face.

"You could have warned us about the light," Tom muttered as he grabbed Harry's arm to steady himself.

"Come along," Dumbledore said as they headed down a road stopping only when they had come to what Harry guessed had to be Ogden. "He's just left Great Hangleton."

"Wizards really need to look into muggle clothing," Harry said. He was unsure of how any person, wizard or not, could think that a frock coat and a spat over a stripped one-piece bathing costume could ever be considered the common wear of the people.

"Well he is dead, so he couldn't have been too smart," Tom commented walking over to the wooden sign that the man was reading.

"Tom he did not die young," Dumbledore said with a slight edge to his voice. The Slytherin quickly muttered an "oh" and went silent. "I'm only being stern, because you're going to need to be calm. I know Voldemort has already spoken to you about some of these things, but he had no memories to show you." Harry began wondering what Voldemort and Tom had talked about, but figured he'd find out soon enough and so kept quiet.

"Little Hangleton?" Tom asked his tone suddenly showing hints of fear.

"Nothing horrible, I assure you."

So the three of them followed Ogden down a steep sloping hillside and eventually a small lane, one Harry had nearly walked pass. Harry barely even noticed the turn to the right though, his eyes instead on the huge manor, church and graveyard of the small village in the valley straight ahead. The lane that they took that had suddenly appeared in the hedge was not as welcoming as the main one. Crooked, rocky, potholed, and slopping downhill itself, Harry found himself cursing every time Tom or him tripped.

"I don't like this road," Tom stated flatly.

"Well, it will only get worse Tom. I honestly would not even be allowing you to see this if Harry was not currently present." This of course did not make Harry feel comfortable at all. How could the headmaster expect Harry to keep his boyfriend under control? He'd failed at doing so numerous times within the past week alone, what made now any different?

"Should he be here?" Harry asked before he could even think the question through. Dumbledore didn't answer Harry, instead just gave him a grim look and followed Ogden towards one of the most un kept houses Harry had ever seen to the point it made the shrieking shack look welcoming. Nothing at all was clean, trees and weeds growing everywhere, moss and vines clinging to the walls. The tiles on the roof were almost gone and as such, parts of the rafters had been exposed in certain spots, the damage to this house just seemed endless.

"Be glad there was an orphanage," Dumbledore said quietly. Harry had never seen Tom go so pale so fast. Fear seemed to have taken him over, Harry being forced to grab his arm just to get him to come with. Ogden too seemed to be scared of this place, his wand out as he surveyed the area cautiously, Harry didn't blame him. Still, the Gryffindor wasn't sure of what to expect and both Tom and him jumped when a window to the house suddenly jerked open smoke rising from within it. They had just managed to get themselves calmed down when there was a small crack and a few leaves rustling before a man jumped out of a tree landing right in front of Ogden.

Harry kept his attention ahead; Tom was looking away trying to catch his breath. The man covered in rags was dirty enough to be a troll, his hair so muddy the color was impossible to tell and to make matters worse, he had several teeth missing making him even more frightening and ugly than to begin with.

"You're not welcome," the man said in the snake tongue.

Ogden of course moved away before saying anything to the man. He gathered himself a lot quicker than Harry could have ever hoped to do, making him feel a bit of respect for the man.

"Who is he?" Tom asked catching Harry off guard. He had almost forgotten his boyfriend was attached to his arm having a heart attack.

"Er- good morning. I'm from the Ministry of Magic-"

"You're not welcome," he repeated still using the snake language.

"Er- I'm sorry-I don't understand you," Ogden said nervously gripping his wand tighter.

"Dumbledore," Tom hissed at him.

"That would be Morfin, your uncle," the headmaster sighed. Tom could have turned on Harry there, ripped his heart out and took a bite out of it in front of his eyes and yet he still wouldn't be even half as shocked at that as he was hearing that statement. Uncle? Tom's uncle? Tom was beautiful and well kept, smart, everyone wanted him, and Harry had just gotten lucky to get the necklace first. He couldn't believe someone like this could possibly be related to the heir.

Tom also seemed to be thinking along these same lines as Harry, because he was now just staring at the beastly man seeming unsure of what his next move should be. What unnerved Harry though were the large amounts of broken off thoughts going through their bond, half of them not even comprehendible.

"C, can't I be related to the man in the girl muggle's clothes?" he asked desperately.

"I told you I really didn't want you to see this."

"I can handle this," Tom retorted, but both Dumbledore and Harry knew otherwise.

"You look a lot more handsome than he does," Harry said putting an arm around his boyfriend. "You have all your teeth and you're smart, face it Tom, you're hot." Harry's attempt at cheering him up though came nowhere near reaching the heir. Instead, he was watching his uncle jinx Ogden causing the poor man's nose to drain out yellow puss everywhere.

"Morfin!"

"You're not lying, they're all speaking in Parseltongue," Tom groaned. "Why-" he cut himself off as an older man that could only be described as a human ape came wobbling out of the rotting house. Older and shorter than Morfin, Harry couldn't decide which of the two were the uglier of the pair. Morfin was dirty and reminded Harry of what he might consider the stereotype town drunk, while the other one would have to be the insane crazy man.

"And you, I take it, are Mr. Gaunt?"

"S'right," said Gaunt. Harry hadn't even noticed that Ogden had managed to get back up and stop the puss, let alone that Morfin was gone.

"And that I'm afraid Tom would be your grandfather."

"No wonder Voldemort is the way he is! Our family lives like those in the moving pictures…Harry?" He looked to the Gryffindor for the first time since he'd gone into shock.

"Movie Tom and they were called red necks." This term actually had Dumbledore looking at the two students curiously.

"Redneck?" he asked the word sounding very odd indeed coming from his mouth.

"It's a term used in North America to muggles who live like this. It was in a Western movie we were watching last summer," he explained.

"I don't want to be related to people like this!"

"Then don't be," Harry said kissing him gently on the cheek. He came to the conclusion that his first and main priority was to calm his boyfriend down. "Tom you were related to them before you even knew about them, but you're still you, so just pretend you're not. The Dursleys do it to me all the time. You're a lot better than they are, you're the true Slytherin heir," he said hoping all the compliments would snap the Slytherin into his usual cocky self.

"Yeah, but now that I know I can't avoid it….these people…That means my mother is inside," he groaned. "She lived in a place like this?"

"Why do you think she ran Tom? She had the chance to return here; instead she chose the orphanage for you to grow up in."

"Yeah well, even that didn't really help her plan now did it?" he asked defensively looking away from the headmaster.

"Not with Voldemort no, but with you Tom, you've grown up so far just fine." Harry watched Tom's actions for a moment before pulling him back to his embrace. Surely, Tom had indeed grown up better than Voldemort had; he was sleeping in the Gryffindor tower of all places and was helping Harry Potter, the boy he was supposed to grow up and murder with his studies.

"Yeah, I guess," he said quietly. It was odd for Harry to see his boyfriend like this, the emotional roller coaster he'd spent with him over the past week seemed nothing compared to this and he was suddenly beginning to understand why Tom was so scared of him coming to these lessons.

"You knew that your family had been poor," Harry said as he started to piece some things together based on Tom's reactions and parts of his thoughts. "You thought I'd hate you because of your family."

"Most wizards base each other off their family," Tom snapped turning to regard him. "This house is even worse than what Voldemort described it as. Even Weasley's house looks better than this!"

"First off you didn't grow up here," Harry growled at him. "You grew up wherever it was you did and even if you had lived here, Tom I was brought up in a cupboard for crying out loud," he said throwing his arms up into the air. "I had a family; they treated me like a rat until I was accepted into Hogwarts! Did you really think-"

"There were a lot of things he could have shown us tonight," Tom screamed cutting him off. "There are things he's going to show you I don't want you to see! This isn't the worst of it; it's just a shock on my half!"

"We need to go inside if you two are done," Dumbledore sighed motioning to the door. Ogden had entered the house already leaving the three outside. Grabbing him by the wrist Harry jerked Tom forward and into the house.

"If you think you can shove me face first into a Pensieve than I get rights to shove you head first into shock." Tom stared at him like he was nuts, but he'd had enough of all of this. "If you'd just tell me things, you wouldn't be so scared Tom," he said. "I'm sick of being left in the dark, you know everything about me, it's my turn to learn about you, no matter how gritty the details."

**(TBC)**

Man I've been waiting to do a chapter like this since I realized I'd have to do book 6. It was actually fun…I mean yeah the memory visits in Dumbledore's office were important, but they just feel that much more needed having Tom there and his seeing things for the first time. Voldemort (the other Tom) who'd returned to that house already knows about all this stuff, but Tom had been in the necklace so he didn't have a clue besides what Voldemort had told him, which yes, that will be shown later on. I'm also getting a kick out of having Dumbledore explain things to Harry about Tom. The heir is so defensive about things. He wants Harry to see him as this perfect well brought up prince almost and in reality he wasn't. Poor Tom.


	14. Facing Reality

Alright! Chapter 14 is right up on the way here.

**Warnings:**It's Shonen ai, get over it.

**Notes: (X)**is pov change and or time jump

**Notes 2: Tom/Voldemort**Since Tom and Voldemort due to this odd setting I have were the same age until Tom sealed himself in the necklace Dumbledore merely refers to Aderes as being Tom and the other Tom as Voldemort. During school when they were both attending, Tom used the name Aderes as he does now. And if anyone wonders why Slughorn remembers two Tom's, but Hagrid didn't, it's because Hagrid was under the same spell as everyone else was the year before, Slughorn however wasn't around to have that spell cast. That spell was removed during the summer between Lament and Redemption. More on that as the story goes.

Chapter, 14: Facing Reality

Harry gave Tom a final look before shoving him a few inches farther into the house. A small click from behind them told Harry that the door had been closed, Tom's only possible escape removed. Harry released his grip on him then so they could both get a better look around the supposed house. The Gryffindor couldn't decide if the inside or outside was worse though in terms of decay.

The outside was rotting and old, but the inside was not just rotting. Dirt, grass, dust, and what Harry suspected to be blood caked most of the floors and walls. He doubted even the strongest of cleaning spells would show the original stone color anymore. The doorframe to one of the rooms had been ripped off, the top left, but hanging by mere splinters sometimes swaying when the wind from one of the roof's holes blew in. Despite the many holes and opened windows though, the house still seemed to be holding the smoke inside, almost as if there was some kind of barrier keeping it in.

"Are you pure-blood?" Gaunt asked his eyes narrowing dangerously at Ogden. Harry was forced to acknowledge that while the face did not look like Tom's, the action and expression itself was something he had seen quite often on the Slytherin.

"That's neither here nor there," Ogden replied coldly. "Now about Mofin…" The ministry man's voice trailed off as he saw said man sitting in one of the filthiest chairs Harry had ever seen holding a snake. He suddenly had the image of his Aunt Petunia coming in this would be home for tea and the expression that would no doubt appear on her face as she looked around.

"Stop laughing," Tom managed. Harry quickly forced his attention back to his boyfriend and the nervous breakdown he seemed to be having. It was at this same point that Harry noticed someone else in the room; a girl clothed in rags the same color as the walls around them. She seemed to be the one cooking, or in this case burning, the food.

The girl moved into some light while she looked for something on a shelf, her appearance shocking Harry as he got a good look at her. Harry had expected her to be at least somewhat attractive given what Tom looked like, but it seemed, though cleaner than the other two, she was still just as ugly.

"You didn't get your looks from this side of the family," Harry blurted out without thinking.

"Thank God," Tom growled at him. Even so, Harry could tell Tom was trying to get a better look at the girl as well. Pale and utterly dull looking, Harry couldn't see why he wanted to, especially since her eyes looked in two different directions at once giving her a very insane expression.

"M'daughter, Merope," Gaunt said motioning to the girl.

"And just when I'd convinced myself she wasn't really my mother," Tom growled. A chuckle from behind the couple had them both turning to Dumbledore.

"Tom, you knew you'd meet them here…and amusing as your reactions are, you two are supposed to be paying attention to your uncle's arrest." Tom's eyes suddenly lit up and he was grabbing Dumbledore's hand with both his own.

"You promise I get to see this guy taken away?"

"Yes, him and your grandfather if you pay attention."

"Mr. Gaunt, please!" Attention once again shifted, Harry saw that Tom's mother was trying to pick up a pot she'd dropped. Upon the screaming, she'd taken out her wand attempting a spell, which only caused the pot to go flying until it collided with the wall and snapped in two.

"Mend it, you pointless lump, mend it!"

"Reparo!" The pot Merope had been trying to put up repaired itself thanks to Ogden. Gaunt seemed unsure if he should do anything against his daughter and finally decided to back down.

"Lucky the nice man from the ministry's here, isn't it? Perhaps he'll take you off my hands, perhaps he doesn't' mind dirty squibs…"

"I'm part squib?" Tom asked in a small defeated tone. Harry couldn't believe how big Tom had managed to get his eyes.

"A mere insult, she was able to brew a love potion wasn't she?" That thought alone made Tom snap out of his desperate mode into anger and caused Harry to frown. Tom's mother had made a love potion? That did explain how Tom had come into being, as he couldn't believe anyone would want to go near such a woman. It could also explain why Tom had such a hatred for love potions, which of course he'd have to wait until after the memory was over to get such answers.

Harry walked over to Tom and pulling him away from his would be mother that he'd been glaring at. He forced Tom to look him in the eyes then. "If it wasn't for that potion you would look like road kill or may not have even been born," Harry hissed at him in the snake tongue. After having heard Tom's family yelling at one another in the language it had just slipped out that way. This action however didn't seem to prove to be a smart one.

Rage began filling into him from the bond, Harry taking a few steps back to avoid any physical contact with his boyfriend. The Gryffindor mentally cursed, he knew he shouldn't have pushed Tom so far, but the reactions he was having were far to over emotional for his own good.

"Do you think I'm going to let you take command of me," he demanded his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Tom please. You need to calm down! Knowing any of this stuff doesn't make you a different person now, isn't that what you had me learn last year?" he asked pleadingly. "When you showed me Snape's memory to prove that regardless of how I look that I wasn't my dad? It's the same thing as this isn't it?" Harry waited for an answer than, half-expecting Tom to lash out at him, but to his surprise and relief the Slytherin remained where he was at and nodded. Trying to give a half smile he held his hand up, which Harry took gratefully. "Thank you."

"See this "Gaunt demanded jerking the poor girl again.

"I see it, I see it!"

"Slytherin's! Salazar Slytherin's! We're his last living descendants, what do you say to that, eh?" Gaunt sounded so proud of himself he gave Ogden a large grin after shoving his now haggard daughter away. She moved back to the corner she'd been in when they'd first came in and began rubbing her neck as she gasped air back into her lungs.

"What's the point of being an heir if you're like this?" Tom asked quietly. He didn't jerk away from Harry, but he looked extremely distressed and Harry swore he could see Dumbledore smiling from the corner of his eye. It took a few seconds for him to process this, but realization finally dawned on him. He now understood why Dumbledore had allowed Tom to come in the first place.

"You wanted him to freak out," Harry said quietly as the headmaster came to stand beside him.

"No, I merely wished for him to see the truth. He grew up questioning his background, terrified he'd become another Voldemort, but it's not your blood that decides who are you are," he said in a calm tone. "I had wish he'd learn this when he was teaching you, alas, he is blinded to his own flaws at times."

"It's more about the experiences you have," Harry agreed quietly. The headmaster nodded. 'And it took all this just to get Tom to understand that,' Harry said to himself shaking his head. Tom was indeed very stubborn and hardheaded.

"No!" Once again ripped from his thoughts, Harry looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of Tom running towards Merope to shield her from Gaunt. Ogden seemed to have the same thoughts luckily enough and had already taken his wand out aiming it at Tom's grandfather.

"Relashio!" Gaunt was thrown away from his daughter, but the attack had sent Morfin into his own fit of rage. The man had gotten to his feet so fast Ogden was forced to make a run for his life out the door.

"Tom," Dumbledore said sternly walking out the door and going after the ministry official. The Slytherin looked hesitant, Merope on the floor behind him sobbing. Harry knew there was nothing they could do and as such grabbed Tom's hand against his better judgment and pulled him out of the shack. Strangely enough, the heir didn't protest.

They both started running when they saw how far behind they'd fallen and only stopped when they'd managed to catch up with Dumbledore, the headmaster was standing beside one of two horses. Harry first took notice of the woman on the gray horse, which when compared to Merope looked so beautiful he thought that she was better suited to play the part of Tom's mother. It was not until Harry heard a small groan from his boyfriend that he took a look at the other rider that had just shown up.

There on the chestnut horse sat an older version, yet somehow more striking, of Tom minus the red eyes. It was obvious that this man had to be Tom's father. He was laughing at Ogden, no doubt at the clothes the man had been wearing, but Harry was more interested in the laugh itself as it was an exact replica of Tom's own.

The Slytherin made a step towards the horse, but Dumbledore's hand came down on his shoulder stopping him.

"This is enough for tonight," he said gently. Before a word of protest could be uttered, they were flying through darkness arriving back in the headmaster's office. "Did I give you too much?" Harry thought that question should have been asked much sooner, but he kept quiet so Tom could answer.

"No…" A lie, Harry knew. The Gryffindor found himself closing in on Tom, but stopped himself a few steps short. It had been a long lesson, a very tiring one thanks to his boyfriend's emotions, but he felt that didn't matter at the moment. The only thing that did was the distress and fear flashing through his mind from Tom's own. "It's okay," he said quietly. Harry decided he had calmed down enough at least for the moment and wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"Tom, I know that's not the story Voldemort gave you, do you have any questions?" There was a short pause as Harry felt Tom shift through his thoughts.

"No…not tonight. I can't handle any more tonight," he admitted looking away.

"Harry, would you be so kind as to allow us a few moments of privacy?"

"Of course. I'll see you in the common room-"

"No," Tom said cutting him off. "Wait on the staircase." Harry nodded saying a quick goodnight to Dumbledore and left.

**(X)**

The door shut and Tom let out a calming breath. He had never expected himself to go through such emotional turmoil, especially not over some family he'd never even known. The only family he'd ever known was Dumbledore, Mrs. Cole, and McGonagall.

"Tom, I'm very proud of you," Dumbledore said holding out a chocolate frog to him. The Slytherin blinked slowly taking the enchanted chocolate and placing it into his robes. "It was a very emotional night, yet, despite it all you came out much more human than I could have hoped for."

"I am human," Tom snapped defensively. He couldn't stop the blush from his cheeks though at Dumbledore's proclamation of his being proud and glared at the headmaster.

"Yes, but as you know Voldemort threw away his humanity-"

"Don't compare me to him," Tom screamed. His rage had shot up and he felt Harry's half of the bond switch to fear. "I may have started off like him, but I'm not…" His voice trailed off and to his shame, he began crying. "I'm not Voldemort! I'll never be like him!"

"And that is why I need you to see these things," Dumbledore smiled walking towards Tom. "I know you're a bit old for this, but you could keep him for the night." Tom wiped a few of his tears away to see his childhood stuffed Hippogriff staring at him. "I'm sure he'd love to spend some time with you."

"Do I look four?" Regardless of the words, he grabbed the soft toy from Dumbledore and was now clutching it tightly.

"No, you look one step closer to becoming a man. Now, I'm sure Harry is sitting on those steps quite confused. Don't be too hard on him; I do believe he does not understand half of what happened here tonight."

"Yeah…" Sighing Tom headed to the door his mind still swirling from everything that he'd learned. He'd been raised knowing love, that he was strong, to be proud of his abilities. He'd even learned young that he was an heir of Slytherin, something Dumbledore had told him to also be proud of, but how could he be anymore? The past heirs were mad, ugly creatures; they were what Voldemort had eventually become. And even worse, he'd almost fallen to that same fate, regardless of the love he'd gotten as a child.

"Tom, don't worry. In time I'll explain more and no matter what, Harry will not leave your side, I am sure of that," the headmaster said firmly. "So goodnight and try not to have any nightmares."

"Yeah, night old man." He opened the door. "Don't have any yourself," he said quickly walking out and shutting the door.

**(X)**

The second Harry heard the door open and close he shot back up the steps nearly colliding face first into Tom. After the initial shock wore off Tom gave him an odd look and nodded to the stairs.

"So we're starting that again are we?"

"What?" Harry asked staring at him.

"Nothing…sit down a minute." He sat down himself on the steps patting the stone step beside him with one of his hands. Harry sat down then waiting for his boyfriend to say something, but he seemed distracted so he decided to start the conversation himself.

"So…" Harry really didn't know what to say. He felt guilty for all the degrading thoughts he'd had about Tom when the entire thing really had taken its toll on him. "Well…"

"Spit it out already," the heir snapped. He shifted something Harry couldn't see to his other hand and wrapped the now free one around Harry's waist. "Come on, I'm an emotional wreck at the moment, you can't ignore me."

"I'm not trying to, I just feel bad for the way that I acted…I let my own emotions get carried away," he sighed. He felt better having said it aloud.

"You should," The Slytherin said without a second thought. "Besides, did you see that guy my mother bewitched," he asked grinning. "If that's how I'm going to look, then you can't afford to be mean to me," he said arrogantly. "I'll be able to have anyone I want."

"It's called a father Tom," Harry snickered glad to see the heir was back in a joking mood. "And I'm bound to look like my own, so you better be careful yourself," he grinned at him, his own arm going around Tom.

"That wasn't my father love," Tom said kissing Harry on the cheek.

"Yes it was! You two look like complete copies!"

"Yeah well, he's the one half my blood came from," he said suddenly sounding serious. "But he never came for me or raised me. He never came back for Voldemort either."

"He might not have known," Harry offered, but they both knew the truth.

"It's okay, I got lucky and ended up with a much better dad," he said smiling.

"So you were adopted then?" Harry asked curiously. Tom nodded smiling slightly at him and stood up. He held his hand out to Harry who took it as always and the two began their trek back to the common room.

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," he said as the staircase vanished behind them. "It would just lead to more questions and a lot of them I'm not ready to answer yet." Harry couldn't help, but grin at his boyfriend then. Tom had finally, honestly told him something without him being forced to look through their bound to find it. It was true that he wanted to ask those questions, but for now, he was just happy that his boyfriend was finally not hiding everything. Grinning like the idiot he was, he threw his arms around Tom pulling him into a tight embrace.

"It's okay if you don't want to answer anything right now….well…" his voice trailed off seeing the stuffed toy in Tom's other hand. "Expect for that, what do you have in your hand?" Tom looked down at his own hand to see what Harry was talking about and started laughing.

"Why telling you would be no fun at all love," he said pulling out of the embrace and holding the stuffed toy up for Harry to see. The stuffed toy was a Hippogriff that looked quite ragged and old, and Harry could easily see where the toy had been sewn back together in more than a few places. "You're not going to tell me you didn't have some kind of toy you cherished when you were a kid," he muttered his face turning red. "Everyone has something…"

"No…I never got anything like that. The Dursleys couldn't stand to see me happy. The first real thing I had to cherish was Hedwig," he said smiling at Tom's toy. He was glad that despite all the hell Tom had been through as a child, he'd at least had a toy to comfort him. As the reality of that set in though Harry couldn't help, but start laughing.

"Future Voldemort had a stuffed toy," Harry said trying to stop himself from falling over at the thought.

"Shut up," Tom screamed. Harry dodged a punch from his boyfriend quickly saying the password and running through the portrait hole. He managed to get into a hiding spot in the common room before Tom made it in, who quickly began searching for him.

"Would have thought the heir of Slytherin would have had a stuffed snake," Harry teased him from behind the chair he'd hidden behind.

"…..I was scared of snakes as a child," Tom said taking a seat besides his boyfriend. Harry jumped realizing that hiding from someone who was mentally connected to you was pointless and started snickering until he took note of what Tom had just said.

"Wait, you were scared of snakes? The heir of Slytherin was scared of snakes?" Harry asked once again shocked before bursting into a fit of laughter. He was finding out so much about Tom this night he was sure he was going to be forced to write most it down or he'd forget.

"Of course I was! When I was still at the orphanage, there were times snakes would get in. You try being four and not knowing you're a wizard, but have snakes talking to you," he growled. "Animals aren't supposed to talk, but the snakes did, I thought I was crazy. I mean…no one else could hear them, but Voldemort and that didn't make me feel too much better…" He stared at Harry and the Gryffindor found himself jumping him. He pinned Tom to the floor as he had the night before and wrapped his arms around him tightly.

"You're very talkative tonight," he said happily nuzzling him. He didn't want to discourage his boyfriend in any way to stop talking about his past, after all. This is what he'd been hoping for, for months. "So your dad bought you a Hippogriff instead?"

"He made it," Tom corrected him one arm around his waist, the other holding up the toy. "He gave it to me on the day he adopted me. I carried it around for a long time," he said laughing. "It sounds so stupid."

"It does sound odd," Harry, admitted kissing him. "But that's alright; I like you being more human than god." He removed one of his hands trailing it down the side of Tom's neck. The Slytherin had allowed him to mark him the night before and seeing the bruise on his neck made him blush.

The two of them remained in the common room then, Harry more than happy to spend some quiet time with his boyfriend by the fireplace even if it wasn't lit. Thoughts of them spending quiet evenings near a fire upon their arrival at number twelve once Christmas came filled his mind and he couldn't help sighing.

"Christmas is too far away," he said sadly. Tom said nothing, but Harry knew he was still trying to come to terms with the things they learned tonight. The lesson had been more stressful on Tom this time and he suddenly wondered if next time it would be the other way around. Perhaps there were things that even though he told himself wouldn't bother him, when faced with them, might.

"Let's go to bed," Tom said some time later. Harry nodded quietly glad they were going to lie down and get some sleep, hopefully without any nightmares. So the two of them headed up the staircase to the dorm, Harry holding Tom's hand as he'd come accustomed to these past few days.

"We're having the first D.A. meeting Monday right?" Tom asked yawning. Harry nodded opening the door to the dorm and walked in. The others were of course asleep already and upon looking at Ron's bed he had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Draco had tied one of Ron's arms to his bedpost, no doubt, so he could climb on top of the red head and he wouldn't be able to run away.

'See, at least you don't have to tie me up,' he mentally laughed. Tom looked over his shoulder to see what it was that was amusing him and nodded.

'You'd just break the ropes, I need chains with you,' he said off handedly walking over to Harry's bed. The thought made Harry's face turn scarlet and he turned on his boyfriend glaring from embarrassment.

Soon enough the two were in bed drifting off when Harry felt something move. He jerked up, Tom nearly falling off the bed as he did so and started looking around. There was nothing on his bed besides, Tom, who was currently giving him such a dirty look he'd be dead if looks alone could kill.

"What the hell was that for?" The heir demanded quietly, but harshly.

"Something moved," he said nervously moving out from under the covers. "I don't know what it was, but it hit my leg!" Tom stared at him for a moment before he blinked and grabbed the robe he'd changed out of, but left on the bed. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up for Harry to see.

"It's nothing," he said annoyed and chucked the chocolate frog at Harry's head. "Dumbledore gave it to me so I wouldn't have nightmares, now shut up." Harry was quickly relieved, having thought that Dobby may have somehow managed to get into their bed and lied back down.

"Sorry." Tom merely gave him an 'hn' and lied back down on top of him. Tom fast asleep in seconds, Harry examined the chocolate frog before putting it on top of Tom's robes on the floor. He had the odd feeling that the frog would stay there until Tom ate it.

**(X)**

Lucky for both of them neither Tom nor Harry had experienced any nightmares after they'd gone to sleep, but to Harry's annoyance, Tom was once again dodging every question he asked him to the point Tom had ignored him when he asked if he wanted to go somewhere private. This at least gave the Gryffindor some amusement as he left to go out with Ron, Tom screaming after him demanding to know where he was going with the red head.

"He's gone mad," Ron, stated as he gawked at Tom running out of the castle moments later, his bag nearly colliding with a student that'd been walking back inside Hogwarts. Ron and Harry had made it outside long before Tom had since he'd ignored Harry when he'd told him they were heading out.

"You'd think I'd shaved him bald with the way he's acting," Harry agreed shaking his head and closing his History of Magic book. He raised his hand without looking up so Tom could see him and waved. "I love him regardless, but he's making it hard right now."

"Might want to fix that mate."

"Huh?" Harry looked up and in the direction Ron's outstretched finger was pointing to. A gaggle of girls had surrounded his heir, including Pansy. "I'll kill her," he hissed going to confront the group threatening to take his boyfriend.

Though emotionally draining and extremely confusing, last night had allowed Harry a glimpse into a side of Tom he'd never seen, but did enjoy and he planned on seeing it more.

"Aderes," he growled at him pushing past some of the girls. "I turn my back on you one minute and you start flirting with every girl in the school?" He glared at him not sure, if he was more angered at the girls or his boyfriend, figuring Tom was using this as a means of revenge.

"What? You're the one who left me in the common room," he screamed, the girls not used to seeing their crush so angered began moving away a few steps.

"I told you I was coming outside, I can't help you blew me off!" Harry growled. There was a quick scan of his thoughts before Tom looked away obviously now aware that he had only himself to blame for this. "Look, I'll take the blame for only asking you once, but this," he said motioning to the girls and winning a good amount of glares in return. "This is your fault." Tom muttered something Harry couldn't make out, a few of the girls starting to complain hiding the rest of th answer. "So are you going to join us or not?"

"Yeah, even though you don't deserve my company right now," Tom growled.

"I hardly ever do, but I take the punishment anyway," Harry retorted turning Tom's answer back at him. The comment seemed to excite the Slytherin more than anything though and he quickly followed after Harry ignoring the girls.

"I see you brought him back with you," Ron said in mock disappointment.

"Well, he knows too many of my secrets, I can't let him go free," Harry laughed pulling Tom down with him. They both hit the ground with a small thud, Harry kissing the heir the first chance he got.

"Someone's in a playful mood," Tom grinned licking Harry's ear. He wrapped his arms around the Gryffindor who gave in without any protest, his head resting on Tom's chest. "Did you finish your homework?"

"Yes."

"The mock tests Hermione and I made?" He began stroking Harry's hair.

"Yes, graded by Hermione this morning. I only missed two. One on troll and giant mix breeds and the one about how nonverbal spells can cause problems with potions," he said stretching.

"Alright….Finish the D.A. planning and alert everyone?" Harry nodded closing his eyes. Just taking in Tom's scent made him relaxed enough to fall asleep. He moved one of his hands to Tom's free one and intertwined their fingers.

Harry wasn't sure how long they remained out there, as he kept dazing in and out. Draco and Hermione had joined them at some point, the four talking about classes and the such. Harry himself didn't feel like joining in however, to comfortable, as he was to move. It was hard for him to understand, but somehow the things that'd happened the night before had made him feel that much closer to his boyfriend and he wanted him all to himself for the day.

"Right, it'll be later tomorrow night like before. At least we have Dumbledore's permission this time." Harry opened his eyes to see some of the girls that'd surrounded Tom talking to Hermione.

'Gods, people like them are coming?' he asked annoyed. He knew it was stupid, but he was beginning to understand more and more why Tom was always worried about him cheating, everyone around them was a threat besides Ron, Draco, and Hermione. It annoyed him even more to think that these girls would be abusing defense lessons as a way to get closer to Tom.

'Don't worry about it. Those who think it's too hard will drop out,' Tom assured him, but Harry knew it wouldn't be that easy. He'd seen and heard too many stories from Hermione, had seen how Cho was and knew that this wouldn't be something as simple as telling them to back off.

'I don't like this idea anymore,' he mentally sighed trying to drift back into his daydreams.

'Too bad.' Harry had no idea what was happening, but he suddenly found himself on his back, Tom on top of him, his arms pinned above his head. "They're bound to learn," he said in Parseltongue before he bent down frenching the confused boy. Harry's eyes shot back open, but as always, he ended up giving in. He knew he couldn't resist the Slytherin.

"Eh, I swear they won't be doing that during the lessons…I hope." The girls Hermione had been talking to were whispering now sounding very annoyed.

'Smart move,' Harry said returning the kiss. He was pretty sure if the girls realized Tom would never belong to them, like Ginny they'd give up and maybe not even show up for the lessons.

"Well, that's fine, we'll fix this," Harry heard Pansy say before walking off. Draco said something, but he couldn't make much of it out. His mind was too much being swamped with Tom's thoughts and emotions as he leaned down to kiss him again, still. Harry to points could understand Pansy's frustrations. Both Draco and Tom had ignored her for boys, but even so, he wasn't about to let Tom go, not ever.

"Soon," Harry said getting the other four's attention. "Just give me a bit more time." He knew Tom and the others had no idea what he was talking about, but that was fine. They'd understand when he told them, until then, they'd have to wait.

**TBC**

I got a couple of 'good jobs' on the last chapter, but looking at this one, I don't think I'll get the same response from anyone lol. I repeated too many words, I'll have to get off my lazy butt to find my books that help with descriptions and actions better, so sorry for that to now. There are some things that happened in this chapter that seemed really pointless…but they won't be so pointless in the future…I guess not anyway. Maybe this is a warning I shouldn't write when I'm sick. Anyway, enjoy the update, good days, luck, and time until the next one!


	15. Insert Problems

Got that out of the way okay next update. Sorry about how long it took, I got some 3-week sickness thing…I have no idea what it is, but it lasts 3 weeks. I'm going on week two now, but I can actually stare at a computer screen without falling over this time so here's the chapter.

**Notes: (X)**is time jump and or pov change.

**Warnings:**It's shonen ai, Harry and Tom will NOT be breaking up, get over it.

Chapter, 15: Insert Problems

"You do realize you don't have the right to hide things like I do," Tom said glaring.

"I'm-"

"You're annoying, yes," Harry laughed kissing the Slytherin on the cheek, his focus actually, on Pansy's retreating form. If the girl tried anything, he'd deal with it head on, even if it meant looking like the biggest bully in the school. As Pansy vanished from sight, Harry sat up calming himself down. He after all, needed to make sure that he didn't snap on anyone that didn't deserve it as Tom often did. "I'm not trying to be mysterious," Harry assured his boyfriend. "And it's not pay back, I'm just not ready yet." this only seemed to annoy Tom more and his only response to Harry's words was a scowl.

**(X)**

Monday finally rolled around, which Harry couldn't help thinking that scheduling the first D.A. meeting for this day had not been the smartest of moves after he noticed he had Care for Magical Creatures that morning. He knew it was pointless to try to change it as everyone had already been on his case for waiting as long as he had to hold the first meeting. With a sigh, he pulled his bag strap onto his shoulder and headed for the Great Hall.

"Hagrid is not going to get you sent to the infirmary," Tom said again, but Harry couldn't get himself to agree. The Chimera hadn't been his favorite creature and sure enough upon their arrival after breakfast, it glared at Harry the second it saw him. Irked, Harry dropped his bag into the grass and sat down beside it wondering again, why Tom hadn't put Ron and Draco in the class as well.

"Well, if you keep your books away from him everything should be okay." Harry merely sighed at his boyfriend's comment and lied down. It wasn't really the class that was tiring him out so much as the D.A lesson he'd be giving that night. When they'd arrived in the Great Hall that morning a bunch of giggling first years had begged him to be careful with them during class, which had ended with Tom chucking a bowl of fruit at them.

"No…I'm thinking about what we should do if there are too many students…I don't want to have two or more meetings a week."

"There are five of us, we'll break the class up, get instructions from you and rotate when we feel like it," Tom said. Feeling slightly better, Harry smiled and nodded. He really shouldn't have been getting so worked up over the meeting. They'd managed last year when it was illegal; they'd manage this time even better.

"Harry! Aderes…eh where are the other two?" Hagird asked looking around.

"I know the Hufflepuff is coming, the other guy is in the infirmary from Herbology," Tom said wrapping his arm around Harry. "Class technically hasn't started yet."

"True…true. How's Ron and 'ermione?" he asked sitting beside them. This honestly felt out of place to Harry, but somehow still enjoyable.

"They're fine. Draco too. We've just been really busy, homework and all…and you weren't home Sunday when we came to visit," Harry said the last part accusingly. Hagrid made a small grunt and looked at the Chimera before saying anything.

"Bin doin' lots fer Dumbledore," he said in a low tone. "So don't go tryin' the find out me business."

"He'll slip, tell Tom, and Tom will tell me," Harry laughed. The rest of their conversation consisted of Harry teasing Tom and making Hagrid feel awkward until his face turned red and he refused to listen to them anymore. The other student showed up soon after asking why Hagrid was so embarrassed and avoiding them.

"Nothing to worry about," Tom said getting to his feet and dragging Harry up with him.

"So, what are we learning today?" the student asked.

"Well, we're gonna give 'em a bath," Hagrid said happily. Harry stared at Tom mouthing the words 'safe' and followed after Hagrid behind his hut.

One hour later Harry staggered into the common room throwing his bag on the ground almost nailing Ron in the head with it.

"Hey watch…what happened to you?" Ron asked standing up to get a better look. Draco too looked shocked as Harry walked pass them. The sound of the portrait opening came and then closed, Tom quickly walking in.

"Harry!"

"Shut up," The Gryffindor growled turning to his boyfriend. Most of his shirt gone, his pants ripped, and random tips of his hair singed, Harry was beyond enraged. He'd had a strange feeling that Hagrid's class was going to get him harmed and sure enough, it had.

"Please," Tom said hardly unnerved by Harry's anger, no doubt, because he could get a lot worse than the Gryffindor himself ever could. "If you'd just come over here I could repair your clothes! I healed the gash didn't I?" The rest of Harry's shirt gave way leaving him in pants alone. "But you look so much better this way," he said raising an eyebrow at Harry suggestively.

"What happened?" Draco finally asked after seeing Harry's eyes flash.

"That bloody Chimera has it out for me," Harry screamed. The only good thing was Hagrid had, had them remove their robes so as not to have much loose clothing on while performing their task.

"Please, it's after all of us. Excuse us while I redress the prince," Tom snickered pushing Harry towards the stairs. They entered the room, Harry pulling away and going to grab a new shirt and pair of pants. "It's not like I burned your clothes off, why are you mad at me for this?"

"Why? Because you're enjoying this scene way too much," he snapped as he unfolded the shirt.

"Looks like I missed a spot love," Tom said quickly moving to Harry's side. He was going to protest as Tom grabbed his arm, but stopped seeing the cut, which was currently bleeding. "Have to be careful of those things," he said quietly licking the cut. To both Harry's amazement and confusion, the cut mended itself, blood gone.

"How did you…?" The Slytherin just smiled kissing him on the nape of the neck.

"I know how uneasy you get changing around me. I'll wait for you downstairs." He kissed the Gryffindor again before leaving, Harry unsure of what just happened, any anger he'd felt at all washed away upon seeing Tom leave the room, at least until he realized his boyfriend had avoided answering his question. Even so, the anger was soon replaced with the dull aching of loneliness. He needed to get back downstairs as soon as possible. Changing as fast as he could he nearly killed himself going down the stairs. When he hit the last step, he jumped off the stairs onto the floor and nearly ran to Tom's side. "Are you okay?"

"Never better," he answered grabbing Tom's arm.

"You give him something to calm down up there?" Draco asked watching the two. When Tom shook his head no the Slytherin looked more worried. "You passed your mood swings on to him," he said flatly.

"No, he's just much more loveable when clothed," Tom grinned. Normally Harry would have hit his boyfriend for a comment like that, even if it was playfully, but somehow it didn't bother him at the moment. He was standing there quite happily attached to his boyfriend and that was all that mattered to him right now. "Shall we head to Defense Against the Dark Arts then," Tom asked.

Nodding they all headed to the Defense room to meet up with Hermione. She gave a quick wave to them before they were all ushered into the room

"Harry," she said quietly as she walked pass him and dropped a piece of paper into his bag. She said nothing more taking her seat beside Ron and Draco and pulled her book out.

'I wonder what this is?' he thought going to pull it out. Tom's hand snapped out stopping him quickly.

'Don't, Snape's watching.'

'Right, thanks.' He pulled his book out instead and laid it on the desk. The rest of the class went agonizingly slow for Harry who just wanted to read the note, but instead had been forced to pair up with Neville to practice nonverbal disarming spells.

"So are we going to be practicing nonverbal spells tonight?" Neville asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I found out a way to practice it so we can start with that and apply it to other spells," Harry whispered back attempting to disarm Neville. Neville's wand came out of his hand, but landed a mere few inches from him.

"Thank goodness, I'm horrible at this stuff," Neville said with a sigh as he picked up his wand. "The only classes I'm passing are Charms and Herbology." He did the movements to try to disarm Harry, but nothing happened.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Aderes and Hermione I'd be in trouble too," he admitted. He made the flicking motion with his own wand slightly agitated that Snape was scolding Ron. There were a few gasps and Harry realized he'd let go of his wand as well as somehow manage to send Neville's wand flying into the back of Snape's head. "Wonderful," he muttered as Snape turn to look down at the two wands that'd hit him.

"And whose might these be?" he asked coldly looking around. No one of course claimed them so he picked both up smirking. "Well, let us see how you fair in your other classes without a wand then." The crowd of students erupted into nervous whispers. Harry had no idea how he was going to get his wand back, he knew he'd need it for the D.A. lesson that night and as he usually did, looked to Tom for help.

'Those are mine and Neville's wands,' Harry said urgently. 'We need to figure out how we can get them back!'

'Please don't take me for a fool,' Tom said mentally rolling his eyes. 'Those are both fakes, the Slytherin to your left grabbed the real ones while Snape was trying to figure out who did it.'

'Always one step ahead of me,' Harry replied thankfully. He didn't know what he'd do without Tom. 'Guess I owe you,' he laughed.

'I like the sound of that.'

The rest of the day was spent relatively the same and Harry felt like he was lucky just to have made it through it alive. He was dead set on believing that something was out to get him. Muttering he took his seat at the Gryffindor table glad, the day was almost over.

"Harry, did you read the note?" Hermione asked moving a pitcher of pumpkin juice so they could see one another. Harry had completely forgotten about it, since the minute they'd left Defense Against the Dark Arts he'd been forced to talk to a group of D.A. members only to come close to nearly going head long down the staircase, Draco's quick reflexes being the only thing that saved him.

"No, should I now or can you say it?"

"You better read it," she said with a frown.

'Of course it has to be bad,' he thought pulling the note out of his bag. He unfolded the piece of paper and began reading it contents.

'That meeting tonight starts at seven in the room of requirements. I can't wait. I heard they were dividing everyone up into five groups. I have you know what ready, so once I get him to have a look, he'll be ours! Keep up your end of the deal.'

"Okay…so be on the lookout?" Harry asked looking back up at Hermione questioningly.

"Oh Harry! Pansy Parkinson wrote that," she seethed ripping the note from his hands and shoving it into her own bag. "I know it's none of your business, but she was in a really good mood today. Just be careful, I don't want our first meeting ruined!"

"Right. Let's keep this from the others, especially Aderes. The last thing we need is for him to attack someone." She nodded placing her bag under the table as Ron, Draco, and Tom walked into the hall. "Get the book you were looking for?" he asked Tom kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah...it was in the library, what's that smell?" he asked blinking sluggishly.

"I don't smell anything besides the food," Harry frowned putting his hand to Tom's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," he muttered closing his eyes. He rested his head on Harry's shoulder then and started to drift off.

"Eh, better save him something," Harry, said pulling out his and wand and transmuting some parchment paper into a bag. He proceeded to place some of the things he knew Tom would eat into it before closing it and placing it into his school bag. "Hope he's not getting sick."

"He was fine in the library," Draco said with a shrug. "Probably got sick since he wasn't attached to your arm for longer than ten minutes."

"Somehow that wouldn't surprise me," Harry laughed knowing he himself had gotten that way at times. They spent the rest of their day finishing up homework. After lying half-dead as Ron had dubbed him, Tom joined them once again completely full of energy. When it got close to seven they left the common room and headed for the Room of Requirements.

"Seems odd not having to sneak," Ron said happily. "Almost makes you kind of miss it."

"Knowing these two we'll be sneaking around for something soon enough," Draco said smirking.

"You're no better," Harry countered, but the Slytherin only continued to smirk.

They arrived too soon for Harry's liking, what seemed like the entire school was waiting within the hall outside of the Room of Requirements. Children from every year and house stood there whispering anxiously, the whispers growing louder as they took note of Harry and the others.

"Here!" It was Katie Bell's voice and suddenly there was a huge banner above a small group Harry hadn't noticed to the side, the words 'Welcome back' on it. The small group Harry realized contained all the members from last year minus Fred, George, and to his Relief Cho and her rotten friend.

"Thanks everyone," he said his face going red. "Let's get everything settled so we can get to work." He opened the door, the kids from behind him cheering loudly as he did so.

The room for practicing had of course tripled in size now so they could accommodate the new large number of group members they'd suddenly obtained, but beyond that it was the same room with the same fond memories save for…Harry's stomach gave a sharp twist and he had to lean on the wall to steady himself.

"I'll be fine, he won't try that again without asking first, he promised," he told himself quietly before he straightened himself up. "Okay everyone, can I have your attention?" he asked loudly. Somehow, they all managed to hear him and the crowd went silent. "Eh thanks. D.A. started up last year so we could learn Defense magic since Umbridge wouldn't teach us. Only a trusted few were allowed to know it existed and join. Ginny," he said smiling and motioning to her, she instantly went red, "decided D.A should stand for Dumbledore's Army as a way to provoke Umbridge more." There was an eruption of loud cheers through the room, Ginny's face somehow turning redder.

"There's a lot of people here now though," Harry went on. "And though we have the coins, which new members will get theirs from Hermione, no one is going to have to worry about any words popping up on their face, since we don't have to hide it this year." A first year girl raised her hand. "Yes?"

"Is that what happened to Marietta?"

"Yea, she tried to get us all expelled. Okay, I know this is going to sound odd, but I need everyone to divide up by year and for all the D.A. members from last year to stay in their own group." A glowing number for each year appeared at different locations within the room and the students quickly placed themselves in the right groups. "There's got to be over a hundred people here," Harry groaned.

"We'll shave the numbers love, no worries." Harry was scared to ask how they'd manage that and looked around. In honesty, he really didn't think anyone besides Tom, Hermione and himself could handle teaching anyone.

"Okay Harry, we have thirty first years, twenty two seconds, twenty eight thirds, thirty six fourths, twenty three fifths, forty sixths, and twenty sevenths," Hermione said nervously handing Harry the paper with the numbers on it.

"Wonderful…Ginny can you come here?" She nodded quickly and ran over.

"Okay…we need to think of a test we can do to bring the class down to size…half the people here are just here, because I am," he said feeling extremely self-centered for having to admit it. "Or Aderes. Does anyone have any ideas at all?"

"Well…does anyone under fourth really need to be here?" Hermione asked keeping her voice down. "I mean, they could really get hurt easily if we're not careful Harry."

"I had to face Voldemort my first year," he said trying to think of some way around it. "We'll have to test all of them…somehow."

"Work around it," Hermione said quietly. "Tell them they have to produce a patronus, if they can't then tell them there's no way they can keep up with the work." It was a dirty trick, but Harry had to admit he agreed with it. There was no way they could all handle so many students at once, especially if they were constantly having to go over things since half of the children there seemed to be so just to see Harry not to learn.

"Right," he said finally with a quick nod and walking back to the center of the room. "Obviously a class this big is going to cause problems…so we'll be holding a test to see who can handle this club. If you can, you get to join and we'll help you as much as we can." Most of the student's faces fell, but Harry had no choice. He wasn't a schoolteacher who had entire days five days a week to instruct them, rather only one day a night every week. "First years, back room," he said the room magically appearing as the words left his mouth. Muttering the students followed behind him. He stopped them just in front of the door and ushered five into the room closing the door behind him. "Produce a patronus."

A half an hour passed, finally the last of the students that had failed walked out of the back door that had suddenly appeared when the first failure had. The test had gone remarkably well, only the students from the previous year and fifteen new students from this one managing to get in. One of them surprisingly enough was a first year, two others from third.

"That went well," Harry, laughed as the walls around them melted away turning back into the big open spaced one. The doors that'd separated winners and losers also disappeared and so now it was just those who'd passed and Harry's close group of friends. "They all passed, Hermione give them the coins please," he grinned at her walking over to Tom. He threw his arms around his boyfriend tightly so happy that they'd managed to get rid of most of the other students. "Now it can be held just once a week."

"You were so worried," Tom snickered his hand going to Harry's side. Harry merely smiled at his boyfriend not really wanting to answer.

**(X)**

D.A. finally over the five of them staggered back to the Gryffindor tower. Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so tired since after the small five minute break Harry had given everyone ended, Tom had decided to have an all-out battle royal between everyone that was left, which he of course won.

"That's the last time I let you come up with the lesson plan without consulting me first," Harry muttered nearly falling over when the portrait to the tower swung open. They walked in Harry ignoring the cheers coming from the others within the tower as he managed his way up the stairs, Tom close behind him.

"It wasn't that bad," Tom said happily. He moved around his boyfriend taking Harry's hand and ushered him to the bed. "You really need to do that more."

"You chased me for nine minutes straight throwing curses at me," he growled. Despite the annoyance, however he quickly found himself pulling Tom on top of him onto the bed. "Who cares though…I'm tired."

**(X)**

Tom hadn't realized just how much he'd tired out his lover, the second he'd lied down next to him he'd fallen asleep without even saying goodnight. Sighing the Slytherin rolled onto his back to look up at the ceiling for a while. The others too had already drifted off leaving him alone with his thoughts, something he hated immensely. His mind drifting from one place to another he quickly found himself grabbing his stuffed hippogriff and playing catch with it once more.

'I'll have to take it back to the old man soon,' he thought trying to keep his mind focused on that rather than anything else. Upon catching the stuffed toy again he looked down at it examining the many details and sewing's the poor thing had gone through. Everything from having its arm ripped off, to a nearly detached wing, an eye almost being lost, all for his lack of common sense after Dumbledore had freed him from the orphanage.

"And you were supposed to grow up to be some kind of dark lord?" Tom instantly jerked around, the hippogriff leaving his grasp and hitting Harry as he did so, a glare now firmly etched onto his face.

"Watch it Malfoy," he growled, but the two of them both knew they were playing. Conversations like these had occurred many of times when they'd been left alone, both of them attempting to outdo the other in both insults and wit. The younger Slytherin was currently kneeling on the floor, his elbows and head resting on Harry's bed as he smirked up at the older boy.

"Here." Draco held up the large envelope, the Slytherin taking it from him and frowning. He knew what this was. He removed the letter and just as he'd suspected, was the hastily scribbled hand writing of Draco's mother as to why he should return, but ending with 'best wishes, your teachers are your friends.' A smile tugged on his lips every time he read that part and he handed it back to his friend. This letter had been one of many that the woman had sent in the past few months; somehow, they made Tom feel slightly jealous.

"I'm glad. So far, she supports your choice. I think her only problem is she's lonely." Draco took the letter shoving it into his robes with a sharp nod. Tom understood why he was hiding them; still, it seemed strange for him to allow Tom to see them when he hadn't even told Ron he was receiving them at all. "Are you going to reply?"

"Probably," he said blowing out a sigh. Tom noticed the closer Draco and Ron seemed to get, the calmer Draco was getting. Not only had he completely dropped ties to his father and the other trouble makers within the school, his confidence had gone up, and the best change of all, he was finally thinking for himself.

"Good, it's about time you did. I'm sure you could ask grease mop to give it to her." Draco blinked a few times his gaze not wavering.

"Grease mop?"

"No one gives me detention when I'm on their good side unless I ask them for it," he growled. Draco rolled his eyes standing up when a hand out shot out of nowhere going over Tom's eyes. He was pulled back, his head landing on a very familiar lap.

"I can't even sleep anymore can I?" Harry asked with a sigh. The Gryffindor removed his hand from Tom's face and relocated it to his hair. "What kind of trouble are you causing?"

"None. We were just talking about grease mop," he replied causing Harry to sigh again. "He apologized. You knew it-"

"I don't car-" Harry cut him off dropping a pillow onto his face. Muttering he removed it and sat up shooting a glare at his boyfriend. He was about to start an argument again, but Harry kissed him this time defusing all his anger.

"Sorry he woke you up Draco."

"As long as you can keep him under control." Suddenly Harry's arms were around him and he started to feel dizzy.

"I try." He felt a jerk and was on the bed beside his boyfriend blinking then. "I can have the same effect," he whispered kissing Tom on the neck. "Now go to bed." Tom of course didn't protest, instead felt glad that Harry had awoken somehow managing to erase all his thoughts that'd been driving him mad and keeping him awake.

"Fine, but it's only because you begged," he whispered back as he began to drift off. The Gryffindor said something, but he couldn't quite make it out in mental or verbal form. Yawning he closed his eyes and surrendered to the darkness.

**(X)**

"Aren't you coming?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head and pulled his shirt on.

"In a bit. Tom's still asleep; I think he's getting sick. I want to see how he's doing before I head down to breakfast." The red head nodded and left leaving the couple behind. Wanting to wait a few more minutes before waking his boyfriend up, Harry walked over to the window looking out at the grounds. He hoped there was nothing wrong with his boyfriend, but he couldn't be too sure anymore. The minutes ticking by he went back over to his bed and looked down at the sleeping teen. 'Gorgeous,' he thought smiling, even going as far as to let a finger trail down his arm. 'But I guess it can't be helped…' "WAKE UP!"

Tom jerked up his face red, eyes wide as he looked for the source of Harry's sudden outburst. When he saw that nothing was wrong he glared at his boyfriend.

"What is wrong with you?" he growled standing up and pushing the Gryffindor towards the nearest wall so he was pinned. "Don't do things like that!" Harry merely smiled smugly knowing he was completely in control of this situation.

"I have a lot of things wrong with me or I wouldn't be dating you." He raised his hand to Tom's forehead and held it there. "So how are you feeling?"

"Annoyed," Tom, hissed pulling away from Harry's hand and walking back to the bed. He knelt down going through his trunk and pulled out some clothes to change into. "But well enough for classes."

"So we can't play nurse then?" he asked in a mock hurt tone. The would be dark lord turned on him, his face completely red, however from embarrassment this time and tried to say something, but only his mouth moved. "I'll meet you in the common room," Harry laughed grabbing his bag. "Don't take too long." That said he quickly exited the room and ran down the stairs going two at a time. He was well aware if Tom caught him he'd be tackled to the floor and a good amount of pain would be sure to follow.

A minute later Harry was not disappointed, Tom came flying down the steps his wand out and ready to do a large amount of damage, but Harry was far ahead of him. He'd only stayed in place long enough to get a glimpse of his boyfriend before he had taken off himself, out the tower and down the steps towards the Great Hall, not looking back once. The Slytherin was of course swearing at him and throwing out threats that if he didn't stop and accept the penalty now, he'd be in far worse trouble later, but Harry was willing to be a dare devil that day. Grinning he dodged into the Great hall and made a run for the table. He managed to get himself in a seat besides Ron just as Tom walked into the hall, his wand still out.

"What did you do?" Ron asked when he took notice of Harry's gasping for breath.

"Well, I hurt his pride, eh again," he laughed between gasps. Tom found him easily enough, not that he'd been really hiding, and squeezed in between a first year and Harry.

"Let me explain something to you…if you do that again, you will be the one wearing the wig," he growled grabbing a piece of toast.

"But you're so much better suited for the bald look than I am." Harry earned himself another glare from the Slytherin before he found a piece of toast crammed into his mouth. Glaring back himself now, he took the toast out of his mouth only chewing what he'd bitten off.

"I was just joking, you know that."

"So am I," Tom said carelessly as a glass of pumpkin juice rained down on Harry's head.

**TBC**

All right…it's finally finished, finally updated. Kami knows that took forever. So as usual…

Explanation: I'm sorry. I lost my notebook again. I know that's getting old as an excuse,. So Happy late Easter.

Random: My birthday was the 2nd, I'm now 19...I feel old.

Enjoy the update!


	16. The Pointless Fight

**Thank yous**: I have to say thank you to Usagai who's been giving me tons and tons of feedback and support. The fix up of previous chapters and such have been all thanks to her even if they're not 100 fixed up yet. So big thanks to her!

**Warnings:**It's shonen ai, get over it.

**Notes: (X)**pov of and or time jump.

Chapter, 16: The Pointless Fight

Harry looked on in shock unable to voice what was going through his mind. The last thing he'd expected that morning had been a shower regardless of what he'd done to Tom, it was only a joke after all, not that his boyfriend seemed to be taking it that way. He'd only wanted to tease him a bit, something they did on a usual basis as it had become something almost to look forward to during these very boring days.

'Don't give in,' he thought biting back his anger. Lashing out would only lead to Tom doing something else and no doubt much worse since he seemed to be in a foul mood to begin with, perhaps due to Harry's display of control the night before? He took a slow breath as he pulled out his wand tapping his clothes dry, then himself.

"You are beyond lucky that I love you," he said eerily calm. The others picked up on this instantly, all of them, but Tom moving an inch away. Tom however as always was up for the challenge, his smirk still firmly in place on his face.

"That's my line love. You see if I didn't love you, this would have been a flesh eating potion and-"

"If you both love each other, why are you fighting?" Hermione asked cutting into the conversation, all gazes now directed at her.

"Good question," Harry said now glaring at Tom as he grabbed his bagel and bag. Now it was his turn to smirk as he had news to ruin Tom's entire day. "Oh and Quidditch tryouts are this Saturday. Practice from there on out once a week," he said happily. Tom was on his feet in seconds, both fists clenched at his side.

"Why do you keep playing that stupid game?" he screamed. Most of the students around them went quiet now, more interested in the new fight going on between the couple than their own conversations.

"You're the one who bought me all that Quidditch equipment! I was going to tell you nicely, but I'm glad it came out this way," he shouted before storming out of the hall.

**(X)**

"I hope you remembered the two of you are working as partners in potions today for a big part of your grade," Draco said calmly obviously unaffected by the fight. The two of them seemed to get into one every minute anymore, why would this one be any worse than the others?

"Wonderful," Tom growled sitting back down. "You could have reminded me!"

**(X)**

Hours later Tom stood beside Harry growling not wanting to back down. Harry had no idea why Tom was avoiding him the way he was, they'd agreed weeks ago not to let minor things come between. Even so, lunch had come, the two only talking briefly before Draco came out of nowhere dragging his boyfriend off before any types of apologies could be exchanged. That reason alone made him keep looking at his boyfriend who was currently pacing and bound to fail the project if he didn't start helping.

"Aderes," he said when the Slytherin passed by him again.

He stopped, looked at him, and glared.

"What?" The Gryffindor asked.

"You love Quiddditch more than me," he blurted out loudly. Everyone, including Harry, had some kind of reaction, his own being the dropping of a bunch of beetle eyes onto the floor, including the glass jar they'd been in and all.

"I what?" he asked again to make sure he'd heard correctly. He'd expected the pouting and glaring to be related to Harry's domination the night before and nothing at all to do with Quidditch.

"Don't try and deny it. When Quidditch comes around I don't mean anything!" Harry couldn't believe the words he was hearing and quickly wondered what the chances of his boyfriend having gone mad were. Surely, Dumbledore would believe that, he just had to try to convince the headmaster he'd fallen into a cauldron of love potion…

"At the moment yes, I do love Quidditch more. You're talking mad!" He used his wand to pick up the ingredients and held the now refilled spoon out to him while placing the glass jar onto the table. "Now get over here and help me." The Slytherin opened his mouth to protest when he noticed Slughorn coming towards him and quickly took his place besides Harry.

"This isn't over," he warned adding the eyes into the potion and beginning to stir it.

"Yes it is," Harry said firmly. "I have every intention of playing Quidditch, you are not going to stop me, and we don't need to be fighting about this. We have a lot more problems to deal with besides you losing an hour of my free time," he whispered harshly. Tom scowled at him grabbing the next ingredient that needed to be added, regardless of the current squabble, Harry couldn't deny being slightly jealous, that Tom didn't even need to read from his book, but knew exactly what he was doing.

"This isn't over, because you could at least discuss these things with me first," Tom replied back just as harshly.

"Well considering the equipment you gave me, the fact that you didn't throw yourself out the window when you saw that I was the captain, I was thinking you'd gotten over it," he snapped. He shoved Tom out of the way when he almost dropped the potion's book into the cauldron instead of the pound of fish guts.

"Well maybe I was just waiting for you to bring it up," Tom said looking away.

"I am not falling for that. I will not be guilt tripped into quitting my team, nor am I going to hand you any pity, because I go to practice one hour a week. For crying out loud we sleep in the same bed, we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, we share most of the same classes, and every now and then I let you into the bath with me," he said making sure Tom was stirring the liquid right. Slughorn made an odd squeaking noise and it was at this point that Harry realized he had spoken all those things aloud, the entire class looking at him. "Oh shut up, once you get married you'll be doing the same thing," he growled at them. The class did instantly go quiet at that, but the professor let out another odd sound.

"Harry my boy?" he asked nervously getting glares from both Tom and Harry. "Y, yes…I see that you've…nearly completed the assignment…why don't you…add the last ingredient, stir, and spend the rest of your time…in the library so the others may work in peace?" He must have expected Harry to be angered by this, but in fact, it was the best news he'd heard all day. Nodding he shoved Tom away from the table, threw his bag at him, and finished off their test.

"Thank you professor," he said through slightly gritted teeth, took the pass from the teacher, and dragged Tom out of the room by the arm. The second they were out of hearing distance, he let out a long sigh and turned to Tom. "I can't believe you, what's gotten into you lately?"

"Me? You're the one down there yelling about marriage…" Tom said his face slightly reddened.

"How can you possibly think it's not like that?" he asked. "Almost every waking moment, we're together and unless something bad has happened, we're together asleep." He closed his eyes resting his head on Tom's shoulder.

"I guess that's true," the heir said with a slight nod. "So…does that mean if I ask you to marry me-?"

"Don't hold your breath," Harry said noticing they'd made it to the library. "But…I wouldn't mind…someday, maybe," he added on quietly. Given the look on Tom's face, Harry was sure that he'd heard him and entered the library. He walked over to Madam Pince giving her their pass and proceeded to a table where they could work on some things without the librarian being able to hear their conversation.

"So…how long is a good time to wait?" Tom blurted out. Harry sighed and placed the book he'd just retrieved from his bag onto the table. He had a feeling all Tom wanted was the honeymoon so he could sleep with Harry, not the actual marriage or anything that it meant.

"Let's try twelve years from now. Twenty eight sounds like a pleasant number," he said happily opening his book up and beginning to read it. Tom growled at him, muttering something about ungrateful whore, but Harry ignored him opting to pay more attention to the chapter on charms for breathing under water rather than his boyfriend.

"So what are we doing for the next meeting, now that we've managed to get things down to size?" Tom asked curiously. The subject seeming to be safely away from any type of ceremonies Harry placed his book back down and looked at his boyfriend.

"I was thinking about bringing in a boggarts and getting them to use that to send their patronus' at," he said suddenly full of energy. "Do you think that'll work?"

"Yeah, that was the technique Lupin used to train you right?" The Slytherin was writing something down in his notebook while talking. "You seem to have it down pretty well, but half of that I'm sure is due to your knack for defense magic."

"Yeah, so we can do it," he said starting to feel annoyed, that Tom was staring at the notebook instead of him. He glared at it, quickly realizing this was Tom's revenge, and as such, decided he wouldn't give in. Two could play at that game easily. "Glad we're on the same terms then," he said pulling his book back up so his face was hidden behind it. "So what shows up for you when a boggart appears?"

"My stuff doll getting torn to shreds," he said looking at Harry from the corner of his eye, but just for a second before he looked back down at his notebook. Harry of course noticed the action, not just from seeing it, but also from the mind link they shared.

"You're lying," he yawned flipping the page. "Why don't you just get it over with and tell me? I'm going to find out next Monday anyway," he pointed out. Tom made an odd noise, but nothing beyond that. "Just tell me."

"Why should I tell you?" Tom finally asked setting the notebook down. Harry looked at the book to see that Tom had actually been writing down different types of spells that they could be learning.

"Well at least you weren't ignoring me," he muttered. Tom seemed surprised at this statement, looked at his notebook, then back up at Harry.

"I wasn't…jeeze. Listen." He let out a controlled breath, something he must have picked up from Harry, and held his hand out to him. "I'm sorry okay?"

"I'm supposed to shake your hand?" Harry asked trying to hold back a chuckle.

"What's wrong with a handshake? They're formal-"

"Agreements for friends…" Harry grinned.

Tom seemed to get the message then, smirking he stood up and closed the distance between them.

"You're so fickle..." He bent down kissing the boy on the lips gently, his hand going behind Harry's neck. When they broke the kiss, both of them were grinning, obviously in a better mood. "You're right, lovers do make up better," the heir said cheerfully.

"We can finish tonight…not that way," he said quickly when he saw the look in Tom's eyes. "Just…I'll make it up to you." He was about to explain more to the heir what he meant, but the school bell rang signaling they had run out of time. Smiling at him, he shoved his book back into his bag and nearly ran out of the library as quickly as he could. "You," Harry hissed the minute he'd walked out.

"Wh, what? I haven't…oh Harry. Don't scare me like that mate," Ron shouted at him. He looked completely terrified, which at that point Harry noticed he'd spoken in Parseltongue and not English.

"Sorry, I just can't believe the way things went in potions…and I think I screwed up more in the library," he said quickly shoving Ron towards the Great Hall when he saw the door handle move. He didn't want Tom to hear their conversation.

"Well yeah, you sounded like you'd both gone mad in potions…how could you have possibly made it worse?"

"I told him I might think about marriage, actual marriage. I mean to actually go through with it," he said the reality just now fully setting in. "I don't know if I can really handle that. I mean it is Tom, I don't want anyone else in my life, but…marriage?"

"You said you wanted to spend your entire life with him…I don't think marriage would make a relationship any different than spending your whole life together…would it?" He asked blinking.

"I don't know," Harry replied honestly. "I just think I said it too soon. He's just trying to get me to say yes right now so he can sleep with me.-"

"-Which honestly isn't as bad as you think it is-"

"-it is when your first time is by shock and force, after just finding out that your boyfriend was some form of Voldemort," he pointed out. Ron tried to think of something to say to that, but Harry and he both knew there was no logical answer. "He completely traumatized me."

"But you still ended up staying together…and if you're thinking marriage you're obviously thinking about doing it again." Harry stared at Ron shocked that his friend's reasoning skills had gone up so much. Just yesterday, he remembered Ron and Draco fighting over the best flavor of every flavor beans, Ron's only defense being his mother made apple pies and therefore apples were the best.

"Are you sure you're my best friend?" Harry asked grinning. "You've suddenly developed the ability to reason."

"Hey, I don't need that from you, Draco's constantly having me play these mystery games, I had to get better or I'd keep being on bottom." Harry nearly fell over at that, his book bag falling out of his hand and crashing onto the floor, his face completely red.

"I did not need to hear that!" He bent over to start gathering his things again, Tom hot on their trail. By the time he'd managed to get everything shoved back in, the heir was happily walking with them, while still randomly giving Harry death glares.

"So what were you two talking about?" he asked snaking his arm around Harry. The Gryffindor wasn't sure if he should take off running or not, since he'd just bolted from the library so he could catch Ron ahead of time. There was no telling if the move had put his boyfriend in a bad mood or not.

"Games," Ron said grinning at Harry. He seemed to enjoy having the upper hand on his friend for once. "The mystery ones Draco and I play all the time."

"Oh…I've seen a few of those. They're so easy it's kind of sad," he said sounding bored.

"They're not all easy," Ron said now red in the face. Harry had a feeling Ron thought most of them were indeed hard and was taking the statement as an insult.

"Well, maybe you have issues with it…for someone like me it's just like taking a test. You read the question and have studied enough to know the answer without thinking twice about it." Ron's face turned two shades deeper and he dropped the subject. "So where's Draco anyway?"

"He stayed after to talk to Slughorn. Something about wanting to borrow something," he said shrugging. "It wasn't important so I just headed off to lunch."

"Oh, right." Hearing this Harry knew something was up. Tom was by far one of the most curious people he'd ever met and he being simply satisfied with Ron's answer wasn't right.

'You know something,' Harry mentally accused his boyfriend. A flash of amusement told him he was right.

'It's nothing you should concern yourself with,' he replied. Harry wasn't so sure, but Draco came around the corner soon enough and they all went into the Great Hall together.

**(X)**

The week seemed to go by relatively fast and with no summons from Dumbledore along with Quidditch try outs that weekend; Tom was often found to be in a bad mood. Even so, Harry himself couldn't help, but be happy. Sure, he was looking forward to the next meeting with the headmaster, but as far as Quidditch was concerned, he loved it and couldn't wait to be back up in the sky on his broomstick.

"You know, instead of glaring at me you could just try and join Draco's team," Harry said as the five of them sat at the table eating their breakfast. "I'm sure he'd love to have you."

"Can you play?" Draco asked suddenly looking at Tom with interest.

"Can you?" he shot back glaring at him. Draco gave him a rude hand gesture and went back to his toast. "How long is this thing going to take anyway? We've homework to complete, a test to study for, you have a new charm to master," he started, but stopped when he saw Harry looking somewhat pale. "What?"

"Just trying to figure out why so many people have signed up. It's as bad as it was with D.A. What's so fascinating this year about all this stuff?" he scowled shoving the long list back into his bag. "Hardly anyone paid attention to it last year."

"Well D.A. was hidden last year," Draco, said earning a glare now from Harry.

"Harry, you can't possibly be that dense," Hermione said rolling her eyes at him. "Give me a break please, it's not the activities that are popular, it's you." Harry had to double take to make sure he'd heard her right.

"What? Why me?"

"Because of all the things you've done the past year. You proved that the ministry was lying, stuck to the truth even when they wanted to make you look mad," she said, Tom suddenly turning his glare onto her. "You still have the scars from that awful woman on the back of your hand, but you still kept on telling your side-"

"-The woman I killed," Tom said still glaring.

"It helps that you've grown a foot or so over the summer too," she added ignoring Tom all together.

"And that foot as well as the rest of him belongs to me," Tom growled. No one was really paying attention to Tom though, especially not Harry, who was now wondering why he got the shaking feeling that everyone in the Great Hall was now watching his every move. He'd never thought of himself as some great wizard or anything like that, he'd just happened to get lucky at the right times and make it out alive. "Going to have to start handcuffing him," Harry heard Tom mutter.

"You'll do no such thing," Harry said returning a glare to him. "You're welcome to watch and touch, given it is within certain limits, but I refuse to be handcuffed," he said standing up and stretching. "I should probably head out there…I'll-"

"I'm coming with," Tom said cutting Harry off. Harry watched him shove about four muffins into his bag and then follow the Gryffindor out of the hall.

"If you're that hungry you should have just stayed there," Harry laughed.

"Making sure I have something to eat while you do those tryouts," he growled. "If they take half as long as you think they will, we'll never leave." Harry rolled his eyes now at his boyfriend, a smile still on his face.

"Stop being so dramatic. It's not the end of the world that I'll be playing, and that teacher isn't here this year so the game should be safe," he said reassuringly. "You've had enough "talks" with Crabbe and Goyle, I won't get hurt."

"Not if you wear all the equipment I bought you."

"Stop worrying so much." This statement made Harry feel odd, as it was usually Tom telling him not to worry about something. Before he knew what he was doing, he'd stopped and kissed Tom on the lips, while sending him a mental surge of appreciation. He was finally starting to openly worry, without destroying, for him. It was a very comforting feeling indeed. Time passed quickly after that, as Harry found himself making out with Tom until the students who'd come to try out started appearing on the field.

"See the problems Quidditch causes?" Tom asked letting go of Harry slowly. It was obvious he really didn't want to.

"So they're a few setbacks…nothing that can't be fixed later," he grinned grabbing his broom from beside the heir.

"Like Tuesday?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes…or in some way like that," he said giving his boyfriend one last kiss before heading towards the invaders. Sighing he looked the people over that were coming towards him, Ron, Draco, and Hermione all behind them, but somehow still noticeable.

Watching his friends take a seat besides Tom, Harry let out a sigh and turned back to the hopeful looking students. He'd never seen so many people want to try out for the team in his life. Muttering a curse, he put on a fake smile and welcomed everyone.

"Alright, I want everyone to get into groups based on what position you're trying out for. Beaters over there, catchers…chasers….Keepers" he pointed out to the areas he wanted them at.

**(X)**

"You're taking this very maturely," Draco, grinned finding a spot beside Tom. The heir shot Draco a glare and returned his attention back to Harry.

"Like I've a choice. If I play my cards right I can get him to say yes," he said sounding somewhat desperate. The tone only seemed to make Draco that much more interested in teasing him.

"Say yes to what?" Hermione asked suspiciously once she'd gotten a seat herself.

"Marriage," the Slytherin replied without thinking. He heard the other two gasp, no doubt in horror, but his mind was made up. Harry was going to be his, fully in body, soul, and spirit and anything else he had to conquer.

"Are you serious? You proposed?" Hermione asked giddily. Tom had never heard Hermione speak in such a tone and looked at her blinking. She was looking back at him excitedly on the edge of her seat.

"Well no…but it's been brought up…"

"You have to do it right," she said getting to her feet. "Honestly, you're hopeless! You need to propose to him just right or it could all go wrong!"

Tom hadn't thought about that at all, but then he honestly had, no intentions of asking Harry so soon either. Hermione on the other hand seemed to have different plans. Tom hadn't even registered what was going on until he found himself being dragged away from the stands by Hermione, Draco close behind.

"What are you doing?" Tom demanded trying to pull his arm away from Hermione's grasp. To his surprise, he couldn't get away and was only rewarded with a small popping noise for his efforts.

"You just snapped your shoulder out of socket didn't you?" Draco asked coolly.

"Something like that," Tom said through gritted teeth.

"She's right though. My mother made my father propose to her a second time, because he did so badly during his first attempt," Draco said grinning at him.

"Well, at least I get two chances then," Tom said hopefully as he was dragged into the school, his arm now quite numb.

"He had to pay for the entire wedding instead of mum's side because of it."

Tom let out a loud groan and hung his head. How he was going to get through all of this was beyond him.

"Don't worry Aderes! We'll make sure you do everything right," Hermione said happily. Tom merely grunted in reply.

**(X)**

Harry couldn't help feeling slightly abandoned as he watched his friends' retreating forms leaving him alone with a bunch of weird people and Ron. Upon seeing Cormac McLaggen Harry cursed under his breath. The troll like human boy had been causing trouble for him every time Tom had walked off.

"Here for the Keeper position," he said holding his hand out to Harry. Harry quickly wondered if this guy was somehow related to Marcus Flint given how ugly the two were, but tried to ignore the thought.

"Alright, if you'd just go over there to that group," he said motioning to the group of others that'd shown up for the same position.

"What?" he asked sounding annoyed.

'Gods I don't need this,' Harry thought and fixed McLaggen with a vicious glare. "I said go over there." Harry wasn't sure if he was going to listen, but a few seconds later McLaggen stormed off to the group of students who were also trying out for keeper.

'Something wrong love?' Harry blinked a few times before smiling. He didn't know how, but sometimes he forgot about their bond.

'No, what are you doing anyway? You abandoned me,' he replied playfully. "Those of you trying out for chasers, mount and give me one lap around the field!" The students ran out to the middle of the field and mounted, only a quarter of them actually getting off the ground. 'This is going to take forever.'

'Hmm?'

'Well if you're that busy I'll leave you alone,' he said somewhat annoyed himself now. Sighing he watched the Gryffindors do their lap. If half of the people couldn't fly like this first group, it wouldn't take even half as long as he'd thought to pick teammates.

'Don't you dare ignore me,' Tom warned, but Harry was already doing just that. He figured he should really be paying attention to those trying out anyway instead of Tom.

"Good job," Harry called out to the ones that'd managed to do it. "Now, stand over there, next group ready!"

'Harry!'

'Sorry, got a job to do,' was all he said before closing his half of the bond. The Gryffindor was quite aware that this probably wasn't the smartest of moves to make. If Tom was able to move, he'd be on the field in minutes ready to throttle Harry into submission. At the rate these kids were going though, he'd probably have a team picked out before Tom managed to kill him.

After two more groups of students who could barely fly, a third one that didn't even have brooms and another two that weren't even Gryffindors Harry was ready to hex the next person who would try to anger him. He'd at least managed to get himself three good Chasers, Katie bell of course and then two newcomers, Demelza Robins and Ginny Weasley, who Harry was shocked she'd even, come to try out since she still seemed to be holding a slight grudge against Harry for dating Tom.

Harry had also managed to pick out two beaters, neither of them as good as Fred and George, but they'd have to do. Their names were Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote, both of whom Harry had seen a few times in the common room, Jimmy having been nearly cursed by Tom the other night for asking him when tryouts were.

"Glad to have you on the team," Harry said to him shaking his hand. "Sorry about Aderes."

"He is kind of wild isn't he?" Jimmy asked with a nervous laugh taking Harry's hand.

"That's a bit of an understatement. One more left," he grinned. Jimmy nodded and walked off to the stands to watch with the other Gryffindor team members who would be the last to join them.

"Draco's not here?" Ron asked coming up behind Harry suddenly. He sounded sick to Harry and scanned the stands again. "Or Hermione?"

"Eh, Sorry Ron. They took Tom off somewhere…god knows what they're doing," Harry admitted hoping it was nothing bad. "I don't know how much more I can handle these guys and their surprises."

"Oh is that them coming out?" He asked hopefully. Harry looked in the direction Ron was straining his eyes towards the Hogwarts entrance. He had a feeling that was not Tom and the others, as the figures weren't running, nor did one seem to have the aura of bloodlust coming from him.

"I'm sure that is. They wouldn't miss your try out. I told them I'd have Keepers go last," he said patting him on the back. "Just do what we practiced over the summer you'll do fine. No one here is half as good as you." Ron nodded, but his face seemed to have turned a darker shade of green at Harry's words. "Just pretend Draco's promising you a night in bed if you get on the team."

Ron turned to Harry looking at him as if he was mad, which Harry was also thinking along the same lines. He couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth, let alone had gone through his mind. Red now himself he shoved Ron towards his broom and ordered the other Keepers to do their lap around the field.

To Harry's relief more than half of the people couldn't fly, three of which had started off flying crashed, leaving about seven or eight students left to actually try for the position itself. Having Ginny throw the ball, she did so five times for each student testing them. The first five of them however didn't even manage to save two goals each. Cormac McLaggen saved four, only to completely miss the fifth one. Harry wondered if he was even paying attention.

Finally, Ron's turn came and he managed to catch all five. Sighing in relief Harry forced himself to bite down on his tongue so he wouldn't start cheering with the rest of the crowd. He'd never wanted McLaggen on his team and thankfully, Ron had proven to be the better player so he had nothing to worry about at all. At least that's what he thought until he turned around and found McLaggen's face inches from his own, and then was suddenly being jerked back and staring at him a good half a foot away.

"You don't even think of touching Harry," Tom growled narrowing his eyes at the taller boy. Harry was going to say something, but Cormac cut him off.

"It's his sister! She didn't throw hard enough; made sure her brother could win!" He shouted looking as if he was going to push Tom back, but then thought better of it.

"Ginny isn't one of my favorite people either, but she would not stoop so low as to give her brother an easy win. She cares about the Gryffindor Quidditch team and making sure it wins, which means having the best players on it," Tom growled. These words utterly shocked Harry who couldn't believe what he was hearing. Tom was actually defending not only Ginny, but also Quidditch. He actually understood what Harry was out here doing and how hard this was. "Back off. If I catch you near Harry again you'll be in the infirmary for a month."

McLaggen glared them, almost going as far to throw a punch, but instead gritted his teeth and stomped off before beginning to scream about how Harry was playing favorites.

"I love you right now," Harry said latching onto his boyfriend. Tom raised an eyebrow at him.

"You only love me right now? I thought it was an ongoing feeling."

"Shut up," Harry laughed kissing Tom on the cheek. "Anyway…got my team. I'm sure we're going to do great this year…"

"I'm sure you will," Tom grinned messing up his boyfriend's already messy hair. "We promised Hagrid we'd drag the others to his hut for some tea after you finished."

"So we did," Harry said off handedly waving to the new formed Quiddditch team as they approached him. They talked for a few moments before deciding on the first day of practice and then Harry dismissed them. "Alright, all finished here. Is he okay?" Harry asked looking at Ron. The red head was currently leaning over Draco's shoulder still looking as if he was going to be sick.

"He'll be fine," Tom, said waving the words away. "He needs to get over those nerves anyway."

"Easier said than done," Draco reminded him. Tom just shrugged again.

"You did great Ron," Hermione said coming down from the stands with Draco's, Tom's and her own bags. "Much better than McLaggen."

"You're right…Still got to get over this…" Ron said trying to laugh. The action seemed to make him almost throw up though so he stopped.

"Right…come on. We promised Hagrid we'd stop by," Harry said nodding towards the Hut on the side of the field. The others agreed and soon they were heading towards their favorite professor's home.

**(TBC)**

That took a bit of time to do… I'm so sorry it took so long, but I get the feeling everyone's sick of hearing apologies at this point. I'll just go ram my head into a wall a few times as punishment and keep going. I hope everyone enjoyed the update, thanks for waiting.


	17. A Truce

Ahhh okay time to keep moving on despite not having the time right? Right? Darn straight I'm right! Anyway. Please enjoy the next chapter!

**Warnings:**

**It's shonen ai, get over**

**Notes: (X)**

**pov change and or time jump**

Chapter, 17: A Truce

"My throat feels awful," Harry laughed just now noticing that he sounded hoarse. He hadn't realized he'd screamed so much, but the evidence proved otherwise. At least he'd been rewarded with a great team in exchange for some minor discomfort.

"Hagrid should have some tea in that hut somewhere," Tom said pulling Harry close to him. 'That fool didn't hurt you did he?' Tom asked him through the bond.

'No I'm fine and would have been even if you hadn't shown up. He's no big threat,' Harry assured his boyfriend. The mental speech was a complete relief to Harry, who couldn't wait until he could get some of that tea, the mere thought of the hot liquid pouring down his throat sounded like paradise to him.

Tom snickered messing up Harry's hair more than it already was again, somehow, and kissed him.

'If you say so. That boy was taller than you were,' the heir pointed out.

'So? He was taller than you too,' Harry said wondering if they could drop the subject, he really didn't want to get into another fight with Tom. The heir seemed to sense this and actually dropped the Quidditch tryouts all together.

"Is he feeling any better?" Tom asked looking over at Draco. "Or does he need some tea too?"

"Think he'll be fine," Draco muttered nodding to Ron who was now walking by himself and bragging to Hermione how well he did on the tryouts. Draco looked annoyed.

"Sure looks that way," Tom said grinning at the other Slytherin.

"Hey…" Harry's tone must have alarmed the others, because they were all staring at him after that, but he pointed to the creature in front of him suddenly smiling. He pulled away from Tom running over to the gray Hippogriff. "Buckbeak!"

The Hippogriff turned to Harry regarding him with what the Gryffindor thought had to be a smile. He stopped short in front of the magnificent creature and bowed deeply keeping eye contact. Soon enough the Hippogriff bowed back and Harry walked over to him stroking his neck.

"It's been awhile hasn't it? Christmas last year," he laughed.

Tom came up beside him glaring slightly and stared at the Hippogriff.

"Damn bird," he muttered folding his arms across his chest.

"Tom, how can you say?" Harry asked rolling his eyes and leaning closer to Buckbeat's ear. "Don't let him fool you, he has a stuffed toy of a Hippogriff that he's been sleeping with since he was four," Harry said grinning. Tom's face went bright red and he started to say something, but the Hippogriff had shoved passed Harry and started nuzzling the Slytherin.

"See what you started?" Tom growled, the others laughing.

"You sleep with a Hippogriff doll?" Hermione asked giggling.

"You will leave this hut bald if you tell anyone," Tom warned stealing Harry's threat. Hermione's hands went to her hair and she backed away from the heir. Harry just shook his head and started scratching Buckbeak's head.

"I'm glad you're doing well. Does Sirius come by and visit you?" The Hippogriff gave a loud chirping sound.

" 'Course he does Harry. Why he was here just a few days before school started teh see him he was," Hagrid said coming out from behind his hut, fang beside him. The second the dog saw the others he came bounding towards them barking loudly. Passing both Harry and Tom who he saw daily, he tackled Draco onto the ground licking his face.

"Hey Hagrid," Harry grinned only to start coughing.

"He needs some tea," Tom said grabbing Harry by the arm. "Shouted himself hoarse during Quidditch tryouts." Hagrid gave a nod and opened the door to his house, the others following behind him, save for Draco who was still at Fang's mercy.

"Get yerself a good team?" Hagrid asked going straight to his copper kettle to warm up some water. While it was cooking he grabbed a plate of rock cakes and set them down on the table. "Help yerselfs," he said at once.

"Pretty good," Harry said taking one of the rock cakes. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he'd seen the food. Tom snatched the thing away from him instantly however and set it back down on the plate.

"You'll break your teeth," he scolded opening his bag and pulling out one of the muffins from breakfast.

"Now I have to marry you, you're always prepared," Harry laughed taking the muffin from his boyfriend. There was a loud clanging however, the copper kettle now on the floor flooding the place with hot tea.

"Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" Hagrid asked staring at the couple in shock. "Harry!-"

"It's fine Hagrid. It's just a joke we've been teasing each other with," he said quickly pulling his wand out.

"Oh…no need fer that," he said quietly pulling out, to Harry's shock, his own wand. He gave it a quick flick and all the water returned back into the kettle, the kettle back to his hand.

"Hagrid?"

"Huh?"

"When did you…?"

"Oh this?" Hagrid asked slipping the wand back into his pocket. "Well Tom and I were makin deals and such," he said awkwardly and started pouring the water and tealeaves into mugs for them. "Nothin teh worry o'bout."

'What kind of deal?' Harry demanded from Tom instantly.

'He kept me company during the summer so I fixed the things Voldemort did wrong,' he replied simply. 'Don't even bother bringing it up to the others; they don't remember him ever not having a wand.'

Harry gave a small nod picking up the mug of tea with his free hand and taking a large gulp from it. The warmth of the liquid made him feel wonderful. He closed his eyes sighing happily, placing the muffin down and leaning against Tom.

"I love tea," he said with a happy sigh.

"That's wonderful! I'm glad he's allowed to stay, but I knew Dumbledore wouldn't allow anything to happen to him," Hermione said.

"Well yeah. Dumbledore knows Buckbeak didn' do anythin," Hagrid said.

Harry finally opened his eyes again to take a look around the hut. They'd been talking about something outside and he was trying to remember what it was when Buckbeat came to mind.

"Oh right! So Sirius comes to visit Buckbeak. Y'know…I haven't got any letters from him or anything…is he y'know busy?" Harry asked hoping to get some information from Hagrid. Even though he and Tom had been coming to lessons, this was the first times he'd seen Buckbeak as well as hear Hagrid mention Sirius at all.

" 'Course he is. Now that his name is clear, Dumbledore can't stop him from doin stuff."

"Well, that's just Sirius," Harry grinned lying his head now on Tom's shoulder, sometimes taking sips from the tea. Somehow just hearing about Sirius made his day that much better.

"Get off of me!"

Everyone looked to the door to see Draco walking in, Fang trying to get at his face.

"Fang, get down boy," Hagrid scolded him, but the dog didn't feel like listening it seemed. As soon as Draco took a seat beside Ron, the dog jumped onto the couch lying down on top of him.

'I just can't stop thinking about Christmas,' Harry said, Tom's arm going around his waist. 'This will be the first Christmas I get to spend with just family.'

'Oh so I'll be going to Weasley's then?' Tom asked sounding somewhat annoyed.

'Don't start that,' Harry laughed. 'You're just as much family as Lupin is. It'll be just the four of us…'

"Yeah," Tom replied aloud. Harry regarded him then, as his tone didn't sound near anywhere happy.

"What?" he asked sitting up completely so he could look Tom in the eyes. "What's wrong with that idea? Did you want to stay at Ron's?"

"I didn't say that," he said looking away.

"But you wanted to right? So we'll have them come over-"

"That's not what I said."

"Then what is the problem?" Harry demanded. Tom narrowed his eyes dangerously and Harry instinctively snapped out his hand and grabbed Tom's wand wrist. "Don't start this just tell me what's wrong now so we can get this taken care of before dinner."

"It's nothing," he growled trying to jerk his hand away. Scowling Harry let go of his wrist and instead went for Tom's wand shoving it into his own robes.

"Tell me now or you won't be getting this back," Harry said flatly.

The others in the room looked at Harry like he'd gone mad, something he was getting quite used to. Tom looked like he'd been punched in the face, but Harry wasn't letting him get away that easily.

"Tell me," Harry repeated.

"You'll just laugh," Tom said finally looking away. "Give me back my wand."

"Then tell me through the bond," Harry replied not giving his boyfriend any leeway. "Who am I forgetting that's so important to you?"

"Just because I tell you mentally doesn't mean you aren't going to laugh," Tom said now looking annoyed. He'd managed to snake his arm around Harry and get it into his robes. "..What is…oh." He looked disappointed pulling out a piece of Harry's Quidditch equipment. "Well it's not my wand…"

"Stop doing that," Harry said in a high pitched tone, grabbing his knee pad from the Slytherin, his face beat red. "Don't undress me in front of everyone else, or ever," he added quickly. "Now tell me-"

"If I tell you, you owe me," Tom said in a bored tone.

"I owe you for not wanting to start a fight?" Harry asked staring.

"That's right love." The heir smirked evilly at him and suddenly his wand was back in his hand. "Or perhaps I'll just do it myself?"

"Don't you dare," Harry muttered looking away from him. "Fine don't tell me. I'm not going to get worked up on who you want to join us. If you want them there that badly you'll tell me." He grabbed his muffin from off the table and started eating it again.

The tense atmosphere seemed to drain out of the hut instantly and the others started talking amongst themselves again. Harry eyed Tom every now and then; the heir hadn't said a word since their bickering had ended.

"He's dying!" Harry heard Hagrid sobbed and nearly fell off the couch. He had no idea who was dying, even took a look at Tom who glared at him for even thinking it was him before giving Hagrid his full attention.

"He's dying?" Harry asked hoping to pretend that he'd been listening the entire time. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"No…no…not safe for anyone to get near the colony right now I'm thinkin…" Hagrid let out a loud sob, Hermione putting her arm around his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry to hear that Hagrid. I mean, you're really close to Aragog…"Hermione said saying the name loudly as if she knew Harry hadn't been paying attention.

"R, right. I'm sure if you just umm…keep him happy until the end, you know, he'll be happy," Harry said quickly. He honestly had no idea who they'd been talking about and was now very glad that he hadn't accidentally signed them up for a suicide mission.

'Do pay attention before talking love,' Tom warned him.

'Well I didn't want him to think I wasn't paying attention.'

'Which you weren't,' Tom reminded him.

'And whose fault is that?' Harry asked sending a glare to his boyfriend.

"Bin feedin him those giant grubs over there…wish he'd get better…" Hagrid sniffed wiping his eyes with his huge apron.

"It's been around for so many years; don't you think he deserves to get some rest?" Tom asked. "I mean he was already a few years old when you had him at Hogwarts…"

Hagrid nodded blowing his nose on the poor apron.

"Yeh, had him the whole time…I guess yer right…just don't like sayin goodbye is all…"

Tom nodded to him acting like it was nothing, but Harry felt a small bit of pity go through the bond. For some reason this made Harry happy. Tom was actually feeling sorry for Hagrid's lost and he snuggled up closer to him.

"Are you mad?" Tom asked.

"Yes, quite," Harry replied not even bothering to look at him this time.

"So…about Professor Grubby-Planks…" Hagrid started and Harry knew they were in for a long talk. By the time they'd managed to get away it was dinner time and Harry was once again hungry as Tom had run out of muffins an hour or two ago.

"Well we lied through our teeth, but he seemed happy enough," Ron said as they walked back to the castle. "Just as long as we don't have to help feed giant talking spiders, right?" He asked turning to Draco.

"That thing that's dying is a giant talking spider?" Draco asked shocked.

Harry had forgotten that Draco hadn't been talking to them when they'd had their encounters with Aragog.

"Yeah, we'll explain later," Harry said, but Ron had already gone into a long detailed story about him and Harry nearly being murdered and eaten by the thing. "Or not."

"Let him have his fun," Tom said suddenly looking a bit depressed as he stared at the castle.

"Well it did really happen that way actually…what's wrong?"

"It's nothing…"

"It's always nothing with you," Harry sighed. "And you wonder why I get mad."

"Why is it just your family? Maybe I have someone in mind that I want to show up for Christmas," Tom said suddenly grabbing Harry's arm.

Harry blinked a few times at the sudden jump in the conversation and tried to piece it together quickly.

"I said we could invite Draco and Ron," Harry said trying his luck and getting away from Tom. He failed horribly though and so remained where he was.

"Who said it was even about them? You warned me just the night before to stop jumping to conclusions-"

"Who's jumping to conclusions?" Harry asked starting to get mildly annoyed. "Who in the world would you invite besides them?"

"Dumbledore," Tom said quietly.

"Wh, what?" All of Harry's anger drained out of him and he couldn't help frowning. For some reason none of what Tom was saying anymore seemed to be adding up.

"What? Is there something wrong with that?" Tom asked coldly finally letting go of Harry and taking a step back. "Does it bother you that maybe I want him around?"

"No, just why?" Harry knew they were close and constantly teasing each other, but he hadn't thought Tom would want him around for Christmas.

"Has Quidditch destroyed what small brain you had or are you actually that narrow minded?" Tom asked looking annoyed.

"Don't start insulting me I asked you a question!"

"Yeah, one you already had an answer to. Who gave me the stuffed Hippogriff?"

"Dumbledore had it in his office, but-"

"And the person who adopted me made that stuffed toy, right?" Tom asked cutting Harry off.

"Yea-"

"So would the jock please attempt to add two and two together and pretend to know the answer," he growled at him.

"Will you stop insulting me?" He asked angrily. "I don't insult you anywhere near this much!"

"Just figure out the problem," Tom warned him his eyes flickering red. "Give me the answer now."

Growling Harry tried to run over the past few sentences that Tom had just said. When he realized what it meant his face went horribly red and he felt like he'd been hiding in a closet for the past six years.

"Dumbledore…is the one who adopted you…" He said at last, more than a bit nervously. This thought had never occurred to Harry in any way, but now thinking about it, made a lot of pieces fit together in the puzzle that was his boyfriend. "He made the doll?"

"Thank you chosen one," Tom said sarcastically.

"All you had to do was say something," Harry said defensively. After all, his boyfriend had been lying to everyone about how his adopted father had been working with the minister of magic, how was he to know that, that wasn't true when his boyfriend never told him anything. It did make more sense though and Harry felt bad for not having thought about Tom's adoptive family from the start anyway, regardless if it was Dumbledore or not.

"You seemed quite happy with making your own plans and not asking for my thoughts at all until I provoked you. I don't mind having a family Christmas, but that doesn't mean excluding what family I have," he said looking away from Harry. "It's been years since I've spent Christmas with him."

"Then say something!" Harry snapped glaring at him. "If you want something Tom you have to tell me, I'm not like you. I don't like going through our bond and reading your thoughts, I want to hear it from you."

"You're not going to pin this fight on me," he said glaring. "You started this."

The statement instantly had Harry twitching who knew well enough that he'd tried to get Tom to tell him who he wanted to show up for Christmas before this fight broke out.

"My god you're stubborn," Hermione said getting the couple's attention. "Both of you were wrong, now shut up and kiss so you don't ruin my plan."

"What plan?" Harry asked now curious as to what he'd missed while holding tryouts.

"Oh Harry, you wouldn't understand it right now. Just please tell Tom you're sorry so his ego will fill up again and we can get on with our lives."

Hermione's words seemed to have irked Tom as he was suddenly standing in between Hermione and himself.

"I don't remember asking for your help with this situation."

"And I don't remember telling you to get into a fight with him in order to make him relax more," Hermione countered.

"Make me relax more?" Harry asked, but Hermione and Tom seemed to be in a world of their own. Sighing he looked to Ron and Draco for help, both of them shrugging. Not sure about what to do next he opened the door and slipped into the castle.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked coming up beside him, Draco following.

"Fine," Harry replied shaking his head. "I'm just tired. Do you have any idea what this plan is?"

"Well mate…He's trying to get the courage to purpose to you since you made that comment in the library. I'd say you're screwed."

"He's scared of you," Draco said causing the other two to stop in their tracks.

"He's what?" Harry asked grabbing Draco's arm. "Why is he scared of me?"

"Because you're the only thing that can harm him. You're his only weakness-"

"Besides love potions," Ron cut in.

"Shut up Weasley," Draco glared before turning back to Harry. "How you react to things means a lot to him and he cares about that maybe even more than he does Dumbledore. You both are guilty of jumping each other for having different opinions. You did this last year too at the end of the year. I'd have thought after he'd died-"

"Okay, I get it," Harry snapped heading back outside. It wasn't like Draco had needed to guilt trip him, he already felt bad enough, but he was still having bad luck. Without saying a word he got in between the two and grabbed Tom dragging him away from Hermione and back into the school

"Hey!" Tom said.

Harry merely ignored him dragging him pass Draco and Ron. They both looked at him as if he'd gone mad, but he paid no attention to them either.

"I'm sorry," he said looking at him. "I didn't know you were scared of me." He said after they were out of ear shot from everyone else. "I'm just sorry alright? I'm an idiot."

Tom looked as if he'd been struck with something hard and he stared at Harry before talking.

"Scared of you? Who said you scare me?" Tom asked glaring. "Like I'd fear the "great Har-"

"Draco already told me," Harry pointed out hoping to stop the insults. "Tom, I told you already I wasn't going to let these fights get between us…I mean we fight all the time, the only way to get over it is to just have them and then keep going on with our lives right now…because I honestly don't know how to stop them, but I don't want to lose you."

Tom regarded him silently another few moments before nodding and leaned up against the wall. He nodded to the wall and Harry happily took a spot beside him wrapping his arms around him.

"So we're both scared then?" he asked taking Harry's wrist and inspecting his hand.

"Every time we fight I get scared I'm going to lose you, but I barely understand you or the things you do so we end up fighting anyway. I want the fights to stop…we're at each other's throats almost every day. I don't think we can possibly be married or anything like that if we're fighting like this."

"So…if we stop the fighting you'll consider it? Even if I screw up…?"

The last time Harry had heard Tom this nervous he was having a nervous breakdown over who his family members happened to be.

"Yeah…if we can stop the fighting for two months," Harry said. "Two months of no big fights. I don't mind the games we play, like with the pumpkin juice it got out of hand, but I didn't expect you to hold a grudge till potions, it was over with." He blinked feeling Tom's hand going to his hair.

"I thought you'd hold it against me. I was shocked when I walked in there and you were acting like it was nothing."

"That's how it should be with the small things. If we can't grasp that, we can't possible handle living together."

Tom nodded and a few minutes later they were headed to the Great Hall for dinner. They'd both agreed no more big fights, just their games and if any more big fights should break out that they'd both apologize right away.

"Oh, hey Hermione, sorry about Tom and such. We've worked everything out," Harry said taking a seat between his boyfriend and Ron. "I didn't mean to just grab him, but we really had to talk."

"And how many times have we heard that one?" Hermione asked, but she looked pleased at Harry's statement so he left it at that.

"Now that we're all on good terms again," Tom said grabbing a dinner roll from beside Draco. "I've-"

"Harry! Hermione!…Aderes…" Slughorn said his face falling seeing Tom. "Will I be seeing you tonight Harry?" the professor asked avoiding Tom.

"Sorry professor, I have some things I have to get done, with um…Professor Snape!" Harry said suddenly as Snape had just been passing them.

Snape stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Harry. He obviously had no idea what was going on, but had heard his name and was now wondering what he'd just gotten dragged into.

"I have detention with Professor Snape! I….set fire to some of his books on accident," he said praying that Snape would agree with him so he wouldn't be forced to go to Slughorn's get together.

"Yes," Snape said coldly after he got the gist of it. "Mr. Potter will be sorting out rotten flobberworms from the good ones," Snape said far too happily to Harry.

"Is that right? You're sure he can't come?" Slughorn asked, but Snape was already walking away, no doubt he didn't want to put up with the potions teacher either. "Well Harry, you can't avoid me forever!" He said loudly moving to the staff table.

The second he was gone Harry let out a sigh of relief thankful that he'd managed to get out of another party.

"I swear he's out to get me," Harry said. He hadn't liked Slughorn from the beginning, especially after Tom had told him about the things he used to do for Voldemort when he was a kid. He hadn't gotten all of it out of him, but from what he'd heard; Slughorn was a very rotten person.

"Won't matter, he won't try anything when I'm around," Tom assured him.

Soon enough they'd finished eating and all of them were heading up to the Gryffindor tower. Harry expected that Tom had some kind of lesson plan set out for them as usual, but the Slytherin merely walked to the nearest chair and sat down in it. Compelled as ever Harry walked over to the same chair and climbed onto Tom's lap grinning.

"We really are a mad couple," Tom laughed as he put his arms around Harry. "Fighting every morning, making up by evening."

"Draco…look at this," Hermione said getting everyone's attention.

Draco took the evening prophet from Hermione and began reading the article she'd pointed out.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked shifting himself so Tom could see the others as well.

"The ministry went and inspected my house…they didn't find anything, but why would they…?" Draco's voice trailed off and he looked at Tom. "Should I send an owl?"

"You might want to…"

"Why would you send an owl?" Ron asked looking confused.

"Come on," Tom said moving Harry off of his lap. "I'll meet you upstairs, okay?"

Harry nodded slowly.

Tom gave him a quick kiss before walking out of the common room with Draco.

"What's going on?" Ron demanded looking to Harry and Hermione.

"Don't know," Harry said. "Come on, this is the first time in a while since it's just been the three of us." Harry grinned and stood up. "Let's do something."

**(X)**

"I see you haven't told him," Tom said as Draco nearly killed himself trying to get to the owlery. "You really should."

"Your one to talk, you barely tell Potter anything," Draco snapped. He nearly collided with another statue and stopped completely this time to try and gather his bearings. "Don't take that the wrong way."

"I'm not," Tom assured him, but he kept on walking forcing Draco to run after him. "I know you're worried about this, if your father had anything in your house that could cause your mother to get in trouble…"

"I'll go back home and kill him myself," Draco screamed.

Tom frowned slightly, but said nothing. He was in complete agreement with Draco after having seen the damage done to his own mother by his cursed family. He dropped his right hand onto Draco's shoulder when he caught up and made him calm down.

"We'll kill him after we find out if he deserves it or not right now," Tom said. "There's no need to get caught up in murder until you know for sure you can avoid getting caught."

Draco nodded to him grimly. They reached the owlery, Draco pulling the door open harshly and calling his owl down.

**(TBC)**

Man that took forever…and it shouldn't have and even worse the chapter sucks.


	18. Foreshadowing of Doom

Okay darnit I am determined to get another chapter done.

**Warnings:**It's shonen ai just get over it.

**Notes: (X)**is pov change and or time jump. Also, a lot of moving around of chapters at this point to get the story flow to work better. Just a heads up if anyone is actually reading this.

Chapter, 18: Foreshadowing of Doom

Harry watched the shadows dancing across the hall as he waited for Tom and Draco to come back. The only way he'd managed to get Ron to go upstairs quietly was to promise he'd find out what was going on and to wait outside the portrait for the two. The idea itself seemed absurd, but Hermione had forced him to go out in order to make Ron listen. And while it was absurd, it was giving Harry some time to think. He couldn't wait for the Christmas break to come. Maybe they could all do something together. At this point Harry would just be glad to sit down with the heir alone and actually figure out where their relationship was going.

The thought struck Harry somewhat hard. Not, because it was wrong, but, because they were actually going to have to sit down and figure it out eventually. Harry knew he was in love with his boyfriend. He'd nearly lost his mind when he'd thought Tom had died. When his boyfriend wasn't near him, he missed him. What worried Harry that on some level he wasn't actually in love though, but rather obsessed with the Slytherin. Was it possible to be obsessed and in love?

"I can't believe it took them two hours to mail a letter," Harry muttered beginning to pace again. He was done with wanting time to think. The Gryffindor just wasn't ready to face all of these things yet. Not alone anyway. With that in mind he was about to sneak back into the common room and into his bed when he heard footsteps coming towards him.

"You're sure it won't harm her?"

"I promise. If it even had the smallest chance of doing so, Snape wouldn't have taken the letter to deliver," Tom's voice said from down the hall.

Harry wondered what they were talking about, but decided he'd be safer in the common room not knowing. Before he could even begin to utter the password the two Slytherins came around the corner and stopped, both glaring at Harry, who could just stand there and stare at them hopelessly.

"And what are you doing out here?" Tom asked dangerously. He didn't seem too happy to see Harry, not that Harry blamed him. It did indeed look like Harry had snuck out to do something while his boyfriend was away and was now trying to get back to his bed before said boyfriend returned and found him missing.

Tom took a step forward, Harry instantly taking one back.

"Listen, I was out here, because Ron wouldn't go to bed until I promised to find out what was going on," he said quickly knowing it was pointless to lie at the moment. He was far to shaken by the look in Tom's eyes to even try lying. He took another step back hoping his boyfriend wouldn't follow and felt the wall hit against his back.

"And just what did you hear?" Tom asked. When Harry didn't answer, he nodded to Draco who opened the portrait and went inside leaving the two alone in the hall.

"Look, this isn't anything to be mad about. All I did was hear Draco questioning you about how safe something was," he said honestly. "That and what you said about Snape."

"Oh…that's all you heard?" Tom asked all looks of murder gone from his face.

Harry was relieved that Tom was no longer attempting to kill him, but as soon as that thought went through his mind, something else occurred to him.

"Tom, just what were you doing that I can't know about?" He asked narrowing his own eyes. "That can't be good. Don't tell me you and Draco slept with each other in the Owlery," he growled. The growl surprised Harry, as he had meant it to be a joke.

"Of course not!" Tom shouted his face going red. "What do you take me for? You're the only one I've ever…" His face turned an even deeper shade of red and he walked over to the painting and said the password.

"Embarrassed? I think that just makes you a better person," Harry attempted, but Tom wasn't listening to a word he said and kept on walking. "You're being a real git," Harry said as he followed him.

"And you're as troublesome as ever," Tom countered, but Harry had already managed to get his arm around Tom's waist and they walked up the stairs together. When they entered the dorm Harry wasn't surprised to see Ron trying to scream something, but no words were actually coming out of his mouth, Draco had summoned a spider onto his chest.

"Well, at least we don't have to hear him screaming bloody murder," Harry said. He moved over to the chest in front of his bed and started removing his pajamas. "Tom, you want yours right?"

"Yeah."

Harry threw him his sleeping clothes and began changing himself. Once he was done he threw his dirty clothes in the pile that he'd wash later on that week and climbed onto his bed. It'd been a long time since he'd seen that look in Tom's eyes and he wouldn't deny it having scared him. Being jealous of Draco for no real reason though disturbed him more.

"When do you think we'll have our next lesson with Dumbledore?" He asked once Tom had gotten dressed for bed and was lying beside him.

"Soon enough I guess. I haven't actually talked to him. He's been busy. I could ask him tomorrow," Tom suggested and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, that way we can prepare ourselves." The words seemed normal enough, but why Harry really wanted to know was when he could talk to Dumbledore about keeping Tom under control and what he should do if his boyfriend decided to go evil on him.

Harry almost completely forgot about this though when he looked down to see his boyfriend holding the stuffed hippogriff held tightly in his arms.

"Do I have to fight for my spot now?" Harry asked teasingly. Tom scowled and flipped over so his back was facing him.

Rolling his eyes Harry did the same so they were back to back.

"Glad to know the stuffed animal has more meaning than I do," Harry said loudly.

"Don't forget that," Tom said ignoring the bait.

Sighing Harry closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**(X)**

The next day passed in a blur to Harry as did most of Monday except for his class with Hagrid since the four students spent the entire time consoling the half giant. After that, it was more of a blur until Harry found himself walking with the others to their D.A. meeting.

"So what do you have planned for tonight Harry?" Hermione asked happily. She'd received a good grade in Herbology that morning and had been cheerful since.

"I was thinking of trying the conjunctivitis curse," Harry said. He grabbed the doorknob that'd lead them into the room of requirements and noticed Hermione had stopped following him. "What?"

"Nothing…do you really think we should be teaching curses?" She asked quietly once Tom and Draco had gone into the room.

"It's not a forbidden one and disarming alone isn't going to save us from Voldemort," he pointed out.

"There has to be a different one…something else we can try first?" she said biting her bottom lip. "Please Harry?"

"Well…how about Confringo?"

"Much better," she said looking completely relieved. She walked in before Harry and he watched her talking to the others for a moment. Hermione and he had been practicing the conjunctivitis curse for a few weeks or so. Was it really that bad to teach the others though? Or was Hermione just worried about the students using it on each other?

The others started entering the room though, so Harry no longer had time to think it over. He headed to the front of the room, everyone grew silent instantly. It was their second class after all and he could tell they were all hoping to learn something new that night.

"Well you're in luck, we'll be learning something new," he laughed getting a bunch of cheers from everyone. "I wasn't sure what to start you off with, but disarming alone isn't going to save you, we have to be able to fight back. A good way to start is with fire. So, we'll be learning the Confringo curse tonight."

A lot of people began whispering to each other at that, more than a few looking alarmed.

"I know it's a bit dangerous," Harry said trying to keep them calm. "But we have to learn these things and we won't be setting each other on fire, we'll be using targets."

"What kind of targets?" Tom asked. Harry could sense his confusion at the sudden change in spell choice.

"What do you suggest we use?"

Tom tilted his head to the side silent for a moment. He looked to Hermione for a moment then nodded, a large army of human sized stone mannequins appeared.

"Well, that should work," Harry said looking at the army. He walked over to the nearest one and jumped back instantly when it moved and tried to hit him. "Okay…" He glared at the Slytherins when he heard their laughter. He scowled at them, though it did look amusing from Tom's point of view. He wasn't about to give them the satisfaction though and scowled at them instead. "I'll make you two go first."

"Like we'd have any problem," Tom snorted.

"Everyone partner up. We'll start off with groups of two working together to destroy one solider. If you think you can handle one on your own, let Hermione or myself know. We'll allow you to do it, but watch to make sure things don't get out of hand." A cheer went up around the room.

Of course while everyone started practicing, Tom had to show off and blast the nearest soldier to pieces within minutes. He didn't even bother to have to dodge once. The Slytherin caught Harry's eye then striding over to him a look of sheer confidence on his face.

"Well? I seem to have passed that lesson "professor" now what?" He asked looking the Gryffindor from top to bottom.

"Oh no, I'm busy," Harry said firmly. "I have to make sure nothing goes wrong here and—" Harry found himself pinned to a wall instead, his boyfriend's lips pinned to his own. Of course he was enjoying himself, the sheer rush of his boyfriend suddenly claiming him was a complete thrill. When the heir finally pulled back he was smiling smugly, his eyes dancing. "Not fair," Harry muttered his face red. "You are always badgering me to stay focused and then you do this."

"Couldn't help it," the heir snickered. He nuzzled Harry gently and walked back off to Draco leaving Harry to wonder what exactly had just happened. Since when did his boyfriend give up so easily on trying to make out with him? Or was it the fact that he hadn't fought back that made the heir walk away?

"I don't have time for this," he growled shaking his head fiercely. There were just too many things demanding his attention at the moment, this was the most important though.

He continued his walk around then making sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing. The last thing he needed was for someone to try something weird and get them all expelled, or in other words, Tom trying a forbidden curse.

The entire lesson went without a problem though to Harry's relief. He couldn't help, but smile as the last of the club members left and it was just his group of friends. When they started back for the Gryffindor tower, Harry grabbed Tom's hand in his own happily.

"So what brought that on?" he asked. The others were talking about some of the homework that needed to be finished by the end of the week.

"The kiss? I always kiss you," the heir said looking slightly surprised.

"I meant you kissing me without trying to rip my clothes off."

"I guess I just wanted to kiss you, that's all." He tried to shrug it off, but Harry could see easily through their bond that the heir didn't quite have an answer himself. He'd just acted on impulse and nothing more.

"I don't mind," Harry added before his boyfriend could get the wrong idea. "It was nice."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So we go to Hogsmeade soon," Harry said when his boyfriend hadn't said anything else. "In two weeks. Should we plan to do something?"

"Like what?"

Everyone of course was looking at them then since the word "Hogsmeade" had left Harry's mouth. He didn't blame them, leaving Hogwarts for even a day and visiting some of the shops was enough to brighten anyone's day.

"I don't know, just something. There are a lot of things we can do. If anything, we can relax for a few hours."

"A day off would be nice," Hermione admitted. "We could all go to The Three Broomsticks."

"I wanted to stop in to Tomes and Scrolls," Tom added.

"I need to get a quill," Ron said.

The rest of their walk back to the common room was then about what they would be doing when they finally went to Hogsmeade. Harry was sure they would have a really good time he just hoped none of them would get in trouble in the meantime that would keep any of them from going.

When they made it into the commons they all took seats in their usual spots.

"Should we all go together or just get what we need finished and meet up at The Three Broomsticks?" Harry asked when everyone else had finished voicing their opinions. He'd hoped they would all stay together, but he couldn't help a small nagging in his head that he should get Tom alone and drag him off alone somewhere.

"We only have so much time. If we all agree to not spend more than twenty minutes at each location we should be able to fit it all in," Hermione said cheerfully.

"I don't want to go to some shop to look at more books," Ron whined. "I've seen enough of them to last me a life time."

"Does that mean you'll be dead next year Weasley?" Draco asked with a snort. Ron returned the remark with a glare and Harry directed his attention to his boyfriend who was looking at the window. He looked himself, saw nothing and wondered what could possibly be so interesting as to keep him from their conversation, even if it wasn't one of the more important ones they'd had. Usually the heir at least pretended to pay attention though.

'Something wrong?' Harry asked through their bond. The heir turned away from the window to stare at Harry an eyebrow raised. 'You're not paying attention.'

'I have better things to pay attention to,' came the swift reply.

While Harry wanted to know he didn't want to pry. Not until after it became a problem that he would have no choice, but to deal with it. For now he would enjoy his ignorance. He hoped he wouldn't regret it, but it was worth not getting into a fight with his boyfriend right away.

**(X)**

The next two weeks consisted of nothing, but joy and studying. Tom and Harry had managed to avoid any major arguments the bath treatment as Tom had dubbed it seemed to be working out wonderfully. This alone had improved everyone's moods.

Harry yawned flipping the page in his potion's book. He'd woken up early that morning excited about their first trip to Hogsmeade, but everyone else was still sleeping so out of habit thanks to Tom, he was studying. He was currently reading Advance potion making and looking over the old spells that Snape had written down. He'd tried a few of them before hand with Tom's permission of course, but there were still a few he wanted to do and with Tom asleep there would be no way he could tell him not to.

He flipped through a few pages trying to decide which spell to try out first and noticed one that'd been revised about six times before a final version had been left. It was a nonverbal spell, something Harry knew he should really be practicing anyway and so he didn't give it a second thought to take his wand out and point it directly in front of himself. He decided if this happened to be one of the spells Tom had instructed him not to do unless being attacked, he'd just be honest and tell him he'd forgotten which ones were allowed and ones weren't.

'Levicorpus,' he thought to himself and with a flash of bright light and a scream Harry jerked up dropping his wand and the book. Ron was screaming hanging upside in the air by his ankle, Draco now on the floor growling as he'd been thrown off the bed when Ron had been hoisted into the air. The other kids in the dorm woke up and started laughing, besides Neville who looked rather alarmed. Harry, though at first was in complete shock, and started laughing himself.

"What did you do?" Tom asked tiredly sitting up in their bed. He was rubbing his eyes trying to get an idea of what was going on.

Harry hoped he wouldn't figure it out until after he'd fixed it.

"Nothing," Harry said innocently.

"What did you do Potter?" Draco demanded. The Slytherin's scream seemed to have gotten Tom's attention and he was suddenly more alert as to what was going on and glaring at Harry.

"Do you enjoy depriving us of sleep?" he asked scowling, still rubbing his eyes.

Harry knew that look all too well and switched from amused to scared mode. He wasn't about to have the heir attacking him, because he hadn't listened to him or waited for his boyfriend to just wake up before attempting the spell.

"What? No I don't, I just, I'm sorry!" he said trying to look for his wand and the book in the dark. This was not nearly as easy as he'd thought it would be, as he'd found out a while ago that he could see much better in the dark since him and Tom had been getting closer. Right now it didn't seem to be working to well.

"Hello! I'm still hanging from my ANKLE," Ron shouted as no one seemed to be paying attention to him.

"Right, sorry Ron," Harry said hurriedly as he dived off the bed and started looking for at the very least the book so someone could release him from the air. Tom still didn't seem to be too happy with him and for some reason that seemed to make it harder for Harry to see.

"Hopeless," Tom muttered grabbing his wand from off the nightstand and muttering "lumous maximum." The entire room lit up and Harry was able to find both lost objects. He pulled the book open flipping through it quickly, his wand in his other hand.

"Aderes, do you mind?" Draco asked irritably.

"Well I was hoping he'd find it and clean up his own mess," Tom laughed pointing his wand at Ron. "Liberacorpus," Tom said and Ron crashed back down onto his bed with a loud thud.

"Next time we use the bloody alarm clock," Ron groaned sitting up.

Everyone else in the room still seemed to think this was the most amusing thing they'd ever seen and burst into more fits of laughter.

Harry on the other hand felt horrible and hoped that Ron wouldn't hold this against him too much. It wasn't like Ron wouldn't have laughed if the spell had been used on Harry.

"It looks awful out there," Tom said getting everyone's attention suddenly onto him. He was staring out the window in pants only, which made him look that much colder with the wind and sleet hitting the glass hard.

"Yeah, but it's not that big of a deal," Harry said getting up and walking over to his boyfriend. "I mean we're perfectly capable of staying warm." He wrapped his arms around Tom's waist as he stood behind him looking out the window himself. The action made him feel that much warmer and relaxed and the rest of the world faded out.

"True," Tom replied. "But even so, I'm going to get a bit mad should you get sick. We'll have to take extra precautions," he said. "No reason for us all to end up in the infirmary."

Harry agreed, but he didn't bother voicing his opinion. He knew well enough that Tom would know his feelings on the matter, since the older boy seemed to enjoy reading his mind as if it were a library for his eyes only.

After all was said and done everyone in the room quickly dressed and headed down stairs to the Great Hall so they could get some breakfast. Ron explained the entire story to Hermione who kept looking at Tom anxiously as if he was the one responsible for making spells legal or not.

"Don't look at me," Tom said defensively. "I'm just a student here, not a ministry official."

Hermione quickly looked away blushing, Ron continuing on with his story as if he hadn't noticed a thing. They entered the Great Hall and took seats. Ron was now telling some of the younger year students, Draco looked annoyed.

Harry had been waiting for this trip for months, having hoped to get Tom alone and be able to drag him into Honeydukes so they could buy a few things for themselves the next time they were to spend time together in the bathtub.

"Finally," Tom said when the mail arrived cutting into the Gryffindor's thoughts. Harry had no idea why he was saying this, at least not until he looked up and saw Tom and Draco's owls swooping down towards them.

"What were you waiting for?" Harry asked curiously. Basilisk landed next to Harry instead of Tom however and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Hey Bas-"

"Traitorous bird!" Tom screamed grabbing the owl and jerking the owl over. Everyone got a good laugh out of this and the heir started undoing the small package that'd been typed to the owl's leg. "I will roast you bird until there's nothing left. You will suffer every-ow!"

Basilisk had decided he had, had enough and dug its nearest talon's into the Slytherin's hand before jumping onto Harry's shoulder.

"You'll be okay Basilisk," Harry promised stroking the owl's chest feathers. "We won't let the mean heir of Slytherin harm you, he's just in a bad mood from lack of sleep," Harry assured the owl.

Tom death glared him and owl then turned his back to them to speak to Draco.

Harry watched the heir for a few seconds only to have Hedwig land on his free shoulder, a letter in her beak. Smiling Harry took the letter and kissed her gently.

"Let's see…" All Harry had to see was the neat slanted writing to know who it was from. Grinning he undid the seal on the back of the envelope and started reading it.

"What's it say?" Ron asked looking over Harry's shoulder.

"Aderes and mine's next lesson. Monday evening…we'll have to cancel D.A. unless you want to run it Hermione?" Harry asked looking to said girl.

"Well…I suppose I could as long as you let me know what you want taught."

Harry agreed and they spent the rest of the morning going over D.A lessons while Tom and Draco ignored them talking amongst themselves. Harry was actually getting a bit annoyed with being ignored, but knew getting in between Draco and Tom would be like setting off a time bomb. He'd learned his lesson the first time.

After they'd finished eating they were to go back to their dorms and grab their winter clothing so they could head to Hogsmeade, but Tom and Draco were still talking quietly and it took Harry four tries before he could even get his boyfriend to look at him.

"I'm going to the dorm," Harry said. "That way you know and don't blow up the school looking for me." When Tom just nodded and went back to his conversation Harry shot him a glare and followed the other three back to the Gryffindor tower.

"Don't worry about it, he's just screwing with you, that's what Draco's doing to me," Ron said cheerfully as he pulled out one of his Weasley sweaters. "As soon as they realize we've left for Hogsmeade without them, they'll be furious."

"Yeah, then they'll be mad at us," Harry pointed out. He didn't like it when his boyfriend got mad, people tended to die when Tom got mad.

"Who cares, let them be. We deserve a break Harry. We've done nothing, but study to make Tom and Hermione happy and blimey I need something else to do!"

"What do you consider Quidditch?" Harry asked grinning. He pulled out his scarf and dropped it over his shoulders. He didn't think he'd need to wrap it around his neck just yet.

"It's fun! But I want butterbeer and some things from Zonko's joke shop," Ron said.

"Yeah, it's not as great as Fred and George's, but they still have some pretty cool stuff."

That decided they met Hermione back in the common room and began making their way to the entrance hall. To their dismay when they arrived, Filch was poking and prodding everyone with a Secrecy Sensory. All three of them were forced to be poked with it, a few times in very uncomfortable places; Ron was even slapped on the back a few times for making rude comments about what Filch was doing.

"Hmph," Filch said as he ran it over Harry's front side once more, this time the sensor went off. "AHA!"

"What?" Harry asked shocked staring down at his clothes. He had no idea what was causing the thing to go off, until he remembered the necklace around his neck. "It's just a necklace," Harry groaned hoping he wouldn't be forced to strip down to his uniform. "I swear I got it from Dumbledore."

"You really think I'm going to believe that?" Filch laughed grabbing Harry by the wrist and leading him off to the side. "Take off your things," he ordered.

"And what might I ask are you doing?" came the cold voice from beside the Gryffindor and caretaker.

Harry jerked around, quite used to having this cold tone directed at him and was relieved to see his savior standing there.

"Please Professor, he thinks I have a dark object on me, it's the necklace Professor Dumbledore gave me," he explained quickly.

"I see…and for this reason you were going to have the boy strip?" Snape asked raising an eyebrow at Filch.

"Just to his uniform! Have to be careful-" Filch started, but Snap shot him one glare and he shut up.

"Mr. Potter would likely kill himself if we were to ever find a dark object in his possession. I'll take responsibility should I be wrong, just send him off," Snape ordered.

Defeated Filch nodded mumbling a 'yes professor' and went on to the next student.

"Thank you Professor," Harry said honestly grateful. He never truly believed things like this would happen between Snape and him, but now that they were no doubt forever on good terms, he couldn't help smiling at him.

"Don't get cocky Potter. If you were held back Aderes would be enraged," he said as if that was all the reason in the world to help Harry.

"Well, he's still in the Great Hall eating with Draco," Harry said. "Guess you helped me for nothing as far as you're concerned," Harry laughed and made a run for it out the door before Snape could react.

The three of them made it outside before Snape could respond, but no doubt the Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher was throwing a fit at the moment, possibly even going to get Tom and Draco so they could punish them.

"Where to first?" Harry asked before he was hit head on with a blast of sleet and wind. Hermione and Harry let Ron lead, all three of them trying to avoid as much wind as possible and constantly adjusting their scarves and gloves just trying to stay warm. They came to Zonko's Joke shop soon enough, but their hopes fell when they saw the place boarded up.

"I wonder what happened," Hermione started, but she didn't bother waiting for an answer, another blast of wind had started blowing and she turned her back to them to avoid being hit in the face with it.

None of them wanted to talk anymore until they were inside. Ron pointed to Honeydukes, which was thankfully open and they nearly ran into it. Once they entered they felt themselves warming up instantly, no doubt from a warming spell as the place didn't have a fireplace.

"Hey look at the size of these sugar-quills," Ron said walking over to them. In all the hustle and bustle he accidentally knocked into someone causing them to drop their bag. "Oi! Sorry!"

"It's fine, nothing…don't I know you?"

"Sirius!" Harry screamed shoving past anyone that was near him and throwing his arms around his godfather the second he could. "What are you doing here?"

**(X)**

Thus starts the change of how I'm slowly going to be moving things around from one chapter to another. Things are going to get kind of crazy, I apologize. The plot hole has to get fixed.


	19. Ignorance

Ah okay let's not take any time in this. If I keep writing and writing, maybe they'll be no chance for me to get caught up in other things. I mean I start classes again Monday, this Monday so I'm trying to do a few chapters in order to hold people over for a bit, I doubt it'll work. Those that are really into the story will be asking for more right away anyway, which is fine, but I can't promise I'll be getting updates like this (which didn't really last long anyway) once I start class. On the other hand I'm hoping I will be able to, since my next class is an English class that this will be really easy and I'll be able to update a lot more anyway. Let's hope so eh?

Warnings:It's still shonen ai, just like all my other fanfics.

Notes: (X)is time jump and or pov change

Chapter, 19: Ignorance

"Dumbledore told me you guys were heading to Hogsmeade today," he said with a large grin. "I couldn't pass up a chance to see you now could I? Where's that brat of yours?"

"Aderes?" Harry asked laughing. "Probably ripping his hair out right now. I ditched him in the Great Hall with Draco. Where's Lupin?"

"I ditched him at The Three Broomsticks," Sirius replied returning Harry's grin.

"They're so much alike it's scary," Ron said from beside Hermione.

"So come on, let's find us some sweets before we head back!" Sirius said leading Harry to the other side of the sweet shop.

"We? You're going back to Hogwarts with me?" He asked hopefully. He knew it was a pretty stupid thing to think, but he was still kind of hoping anyway.

"To the gates anyway," Sirius said handing Harry a four pack of chocolate frogs. "Lupin too, we've both been dying to see you. Haven't been able to really write or anything with all this undercover business, but Dumbledore gave us the day off so we could see you."

"I appreciate it, really," Harry said happily.

Hermione and Ron eventually got the nerve to join them and all four walked around the sweet shop looking at all the new items as well as their old favorites. Sirius even went as far as to buy Ron a box of chocolate frogs, three extra-large sugar-quills and two boxes of every-flavor-beans.

Harry had bought the same items, including a few sparkle pops, which blew out sparks like a firework did every time you licked them and a few liquorish wands. He'd also found a life sized chocolate book that was bewitched to look like it was flipping pages by itself from time to time for his boyfriend.

Hermione had only purchased a few sugar-quills, refusing any of the other candy that Sirius offered her.

"To the Three Broom Sticks then," Sirius said not looking at all gloomy despite the weather.

Harry couldn't believe it'd been less than a year since Sirius had been locked away in his house and how horrible he'd look and yet now, now his Godfather seemed like one of the happiest men in the world.

The four of them left walking to the Three Broom Sticks as quickly as they could. They did not want to stay in the cold for any longer than they had to. Once they entered the shop they were filled with even more warmth than Honeydukes had offered, as the Three Brook Sticks had a fireplace.

"Great place, isn't it?" Sirius asked. The others agreed and they began walking towards a huddled over figure in a far off corner.

"Because of the butterbeer or because Lupin's in here?" Harry asked grinning. Sirius said nothing, but his own grin was still plastered onto his face as they walked over to the werewolf.

"Four butterbeers, and of course a fifth one for my lovely friend here!" Sirius shouted from behind Lupin without warning and before the poor man could figure out what was going on, Sirius kissed him fully on the lips for everyone in the bar to see.

"Sirius!" Lupin scolded once he finally understood what was going on. "I told you to stop doing that! And in front of Harry and the others…" He held his hand out to Harry, but the Gryffindor shoved it away hugging him instead.

"We're family," he assured the werewolf, who instantly began blushing and took his seat again.

"Well, hi everyone," Lupin started giving everyone a wry grin. "I hope my dog hasn't given you much trouble."

"Well we tried to leave him at a kennel, but they refused to keep him," Harry said doing his best to keep a straight face. "They said he ate far too much for them to afford him."

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Sirius said with mock sadness.

"We're both supposed to be on your side," Harry snickered taking his butterbeer as soon as it arrived.

"So where are Aderes and Draco?" Lupin asked looking the three students over.

"Probably here now," Harry said with a small shrug. "We ditched the two in the Great Hall, because they were wrapped up in some kind of conversation. We wanted to get to Hogsmeade though."

"Better now than later," Remus said with a small nod. "The weather is supposed to get worse as the day goes on. Best to do what you need to and get back to school."

"I wonder if Dumbledore would mind if we took them home with us for dinner?" Sirius said looking to Lupin.

"I'm quite sure he would," the werewolf replied tiredly. It didn't seem like he had the energy to fight Sirius at the moment and Harry wondered if something was wrong. Since the other two didn't seem to look worried though he didn't want to bring it up, at least not in front of his friends.

"He does this often doesn't he?" Hermione asked sounding sympathetic.

"If he stopped, I'd be worried he was sick," Lupin said earning a glare from Sirius.

"Are you having a good time then?"

"Wonderful," Harry said turning around to grin at his boyfriend. "Glad to see you and Draco make it here."

"You could have warned me," the Slytherin said taking a seat beside Harry. He grabbed the Gryfindor's bottle of butterbeer and took a swing from it. "But this is more than enough to make up for it."

"That was mine," Harry said pouting at his boyfriend. "Don't start turning into Sirius."

Soon enough they were all teasing each other, all of them laughing at one time or another. Draco had managed to make Ron shoot butterbeer out of his nose, which nearly hit Sirius who'd just managed to dodge it, while Hermione and Lupin remained in their own world doing their best to ignore the others.

Eventually Ron and Draco fell into their own conversation as well leaving Sirius, Tom, and Harry alone to talk.

"Well, I see you haven't harmed my godson yet, no reason to curse you," Sirius said taking a drink from his glass.

"And I see you haven't destroyed the brain cells I put in there this year, I won't have to let you die," Tom shot back. The two glared at each other while Harry watched helplessly wondering if their Christmas would really be as cheery as he'd been imagining.

"So umm…Sirius, what've you been doing…y'know undercover and stuff?" Harry asked hoping to stop the two before it turned into a full blown fight.

"Well…I've been-"

"Screwing up constantly have you? Wouldn't have expected anything less," Tom said smirking.

"Only skinning you alive," Sirius said squeezing his bottle of butterbeer.

"You two please!" Harry said desperately.

They both looked at him oddly before the two of them started laughing. Harry stared at them as if they were mad and before he knew it he was glaring at both of them.

"What's so funny?" he demanded angrily.

"Geese calm down, I already told you this idiot and I were on decent talking terms," Tom said rolling his eyes. "Or have you stopped listening to me after all?"

"You mentioned it, but you're both fighting," Harry growled.

Tom sighed shaking his head. With a tut he handed Harry a new bottle of Butterbeer.

"How many times do we fight in a week?" The Slytherin asked leaning back in his chair.

"I don't know, a lot," Harry muttered taking the butterbeer.

"Exactly. It's the same thing. Sirius and I aren't actually fighting," Tom promised. "Okay?"

"Is he telling the truth?" Harry asked Lupin. He didn't trust Sirius or Tom enough to give him a straight answer. He knew Lupin would know though, because if he hadn't Sirius would have complained to him the entire time.

"Yes, they're on good terms Harry," Remus assured him.

"I feel betrayed," Sirius said taking another drink. "I need firewhiskey."

"You only get some if I do," Tom muttered.

"If you drink it I won't let you back in the tower," Harry warned.

"And why do you think I need it in the first place? It's your fault," Tom said scowling.

"Alright fine, I'm the cause of everyone's problems. I'm at-" Harry was cut off with Tom kissing him, his arms going around Harry's waist. Soon enough Tom had him on the table pinned down; Sirius looked as if he was going to be sick. "TOM!"

"What?" He asked innocently lowering himself back down into his chair a sly smile on his face. "It always stops us from fighting."

"Not in public," Harry said his face a dark shade of red as he peeled himself off the table. By the time he'd sat back down, Sirius was standing up and heading into the nearest bathroom.

"You mean not in front of Sirius," Tom corrected swirling the glass bottle of butterbeer around.

"Alright fine, not around Sirius. Do you really want him constantly throwing up like that around us? Shouldn't we let him get used to it?" Harry asked. Tom said nothing, so Harry just sighed and went back to drinking his butterbeer.

At some point Sirius came back and the three of them just chatted, Harry doing everything he could to keep them all on good terms for the most part. He'd only failed somewhat, as at one point Tom had actually gotten the firewhiskey so he and Sirius could drink some. This actually annoyed Harry and so he joined Hermione and Remus in their conversation.

The three of them ran out of butter beer in the middle of talking about some good lessons for D.A. and so Harry offered to go up and get another couple of mugs. He ordered them, paying quickly and then stopped, when a large stomach nearly pushed him over onto the floor.

"Harry, m'boy! Where have you been! So busy!" Professor Slughorn said loudly causing many of the people in the tavern to look their way.

Harry's face went red and he wished he could just run and hide somewhere. He'd been doing everything he could to avoid these get-togethers especially since Ron and Draco never seemed to be invited to them. He often had their Quidditch practice scheduled the same days that way Ron and him could hang out while and Tom and Draco could as well.

"Hi Professor Slughorn," he said quietly not wanting to cause any more attention to them if that was indeed possible.

"You've managed to miss all my little suppers now Harry! Where have you been?" He asked as if Harry not showing up was the worst thing in the world.

"Well, Quidditch practice for one," Harry started. "And I also have to spend time with Aderes or he gets in a pretty bad mood," he admitted with a small shrug. "I'm just really busy."

"Well you can't possibly have anything planned for Monday-"

"I have an appointment with Professor Dumbledore sir," Harry said quickly.

The potion's teacher looked extremely displeased, but merely sighed and gave a small shake of his head.

"I shall have you Harry m'boy! Even if it's not today-"

"And then I'll have to show you what it's like to relive some of your past," Tom growled from behind Harry. Slughorn let out a loud yelp and made a run for the door leaving Harry feeling both relieved and yet once again annoyed.

"You shouldn't do that, in school is one thing, but if others find out who you are…." He let his voice trail off and when he finally looked at Tom he saw that he'd taken the words to heart. He gave Harry a small nod and walked back over to the table.

Despite all the fussing that followed and the times that they all seemed to ignore each other, Harry had to admit that he had a good time. He'd never dreamed that Sirius was going to meet them at Hogsmeade, let alone bring Lupin or that the two would join them for Butterbeer. So it was with heavy hearts that they all decided it was getting late and they needed to leave and head back to Hogwarts.

They paid their bill, or Sirius did, while the others yelled at him not to and then pulled on their gloves and scarves. Their cloaks came next before they finally headed out into the bitter wind. The second they were out the door it began whipping at their faces and trying to pierce any hole that it could find in their defenses.

"Is that Tonks?" Harry asked when they saw a witch with randomly changing color hair walk past them. Lupin nodded and they kept going. They'd have stopped her and said hi, but she seemed busy with dragging Mundungus away.

They kept on going, Sirius promising to tell Tonks that they'd all said hi the next time he saw her.

Harry really wanted to talk to Sirius as they made their way to the castle, but the wind was becoming so fierce now it took all they had to keep their scarves from blowing away. They all huddled together closer as they were almost to the castle gates. It seemed like it was going to be the end of a fine day when they all heard an ear piercing scream from up ahead of them.

Without a second thought all seven of them took off at a dead run down the rest of the pathway and saw Katie Bell on the ground screaming horribly and trying to shove her friend Leanne away. There was a brown paper package on the ground, but none of them were paying much attention to that. They were all going towards the two girls who it seemed were fighting. When they got close enough however they saw what was really going on.

Katie looked horrified and was randomly lashing out at anything that got near her, not just her friend. Hermione was quick to grab Leanne and pull her away just as Katie's foot nearly connected with her face.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked loudly.

"She's been hurt!" The girl screamed as Hermione moved her back a few more paces.

"What happened?" Hermione asked calmingly. Lupin and Sirius had already began looking over the girl and talking in hushed whispers. Leanne didn't seem to be able to say much of anything though and just shook her head pointing at the package on the ground.

Tom, Draco, and Harry all seemed to notice what was in the bag at the same time. Harry felt himself go pale and before he could even take a step near it, Tom shoved him back.

"You fool, you know that thing's cursed," Tom scolded him.

"She's been cursed?" Leanne sobbed.

"Sirius, we can't possibly handle her by ourselves, go to the castle or send for help, something," Lupin said holding both of Katie's arms down.

Sirius nodded and pulled his wand out giving it a quick flick and suddenly what appeared to be the image of a shining werewolf came running down the path in front of them.

"Should have known," Harry said looking away as if he'd seen something he shouldn't have. It didn't bother him that Sirius' patronus was a werewolf, rather it just seemed personal.

'Harry, I don't want you to really see this,' came Tom's mental intrusion. It was the first words he'd heard clearly since they'd walked into the storm.

'This is going to be something we see a lot soon…it's something I have to get used to,' Harry replied and he turned to look at his friend Katie. He couldn't believe something like this so close to the school could happen, but it had. And even worse, it'd happened right under his and the order's nose. "I feel so useless."

"Don't," Tom said pulling out his wand and levitating the necklace into the air.

"Right, Madam Pomfrey will need to know what happened," Harry muttered.

The next few minutes seemed to happen within seconds, Hagrid had come running and with Sirius' help the two ran for the castle, Lupin took charge of looking over the others and made them march directly back to the castle. Once inside Hermione and Leanne went straight to the infirmary while Lupin, Draco, Ron, Aderse, and Harry met Professor McGonagall in the hall.

"Are you all alright?" McGonagall asked hurriedly as she looked them over.

"Yes," Lupin said with a quick nod. "They're all fine. We found the girl after she'd been cursed."

"Tom what is that you're levitating?" McGonagall asked obviously having forgotten that he was Aderes around others at school.

"It's the cursed necklace," he told her grimly. "If you'd like to take it…" He nodded to her robe pocket.

"Dear lord what are we going to do?" She asked worriedly. "Alright, Remus please come with me, you four, go to the infirmary and get something for shock," she said taking the necklace from Tom. "We'll get this to Snape at once and then pray do tell what you found out," she said looking to Lupin.

"Come on," Tom said quietly pulling Harry away. He wanted to stay and listen, to put his own two cents in, but Tom had been acting extremely calm and he found himself following his boyfriend despite his wishes.

"What's going to happen now?" He asked suddenly feeling tired and worried.

"We're going to have to find out who gave it to her. Then we're going to have to pay them back," Tom said without a second thought.

The words seemed so firm and calm that Harry knew Tom was beyond enraged. Somehow Harry felt he could relax when his boyfriend was in this state and he slumped against him allowing himself to close his eyes as Tom led them to the infirmary.

"You don't think it was Zabini do you?" Ron asked finally speaking up. "I mean you said he was behind all some of those cursings in-"

"Why does he know that?" Tom asked suddenly stopping. Harry nearly fell over, as his support had suddenly stopped walking with him. "Draco?" Tom demanded sounding very angered. He didn't even seem to notice that Harry had, had to lean against the wall to keep himself from meeting with the floor. Harry took a quit mental note to no longer hang onto his boyfriend like that and gathered himself.

"Well, he was really distressed about what we were doing after we mailed that letter out…"

"I didn't even tell Harry!" Tom snapped.

"Yeah, I'm aware," Harry said, not that anyone seemed to scare. He was pretty mad at all three of them right now, not one of them had even offered so much as a hint as to what Tom and Draco been up to, and he expected Ron at least tell him. After being ignored a couple of more minutes while the others bickered he started walking down the hall again to ignore them right back. If they weren't going to tell him anything or even include him in the fight what was the point? He could get to the infirmary by himself and get something for the shock. He needed it a lot more now that he found out his boyfriend and best friend had both been hiding things from him.

"Where are you going?" Tom shouted from down the hall.

Sighing Harry stopped and turned around to face them while still doing his best to remain standing up straight. All he wanted right now was a bed. Forget the information, the fighting, everything. If he could just get himself into a nice warm bed and pretend nothing had happened at least for a few hours, he knew he'd feel a lot better.

"Just go ahead and talk amongst yourselves. I'm obviously not important enough to be told anything," he told them calmly. He turned his back on them and started towards the infirmary once more hoping he'd run into Sirius so the others couldn't have at him while he was alone.

"Harry! Your idiot friend isn't supposed to know either!" Tom shouted at him from down the hall. They were obviously coming after him. "It was supposed to be between Draco and myself!"

"No really, it's fine. I'm going to the infirmary to get something for this and then I'm going to bed."

Tom managed to catch up with Harry, but the Gryffindor kept going. He was hurt by being kept out of the circle, but at the same time he didn't care. He just wanted to take whatever it was the healer would give him and curl up next to Sirius and Lupin, to hell with his boyfriend right now.

"It was for your own protection!" Tom said.

"I don't need protection, we've been over this. I can handle myself quite fine, but really. Keep on yelling at Draco," Harry said emotionlessly. He was quite shocked that he was keeping himself under control so well, but glad for it all the same. He knew it was probably, because he was so tired at the moment. If he'd had the energy to lash out at his boyfriend he probably would have already.

The Slytherin heir looked annoyed now himself and closed the distance between him and Harry. His actions ended there however as he didn't seem to know what to do from that point on. He looked at Harry, even turned to Draco as if he might have the answer, and then looked back to Harry.

"Alright fine, I made a mistake," he said coolly. "We don't need to be at each other's throats right now."

"Who's fighting?" Harry asked. He wasn't yelling that was for sure. He was annoyed and felt hurt, but he was keeping himself in check and not causing a scene. In fact, Tom was causing a much larger one than he was.

"Because you idiot, Zabini isn't himself," Tom hissed in the snake language as he grabbed Harry's arm. "There's a death eater using polyjuice potion like in your fourth year, only this time it's a student."

"And just why is that such a bad thing for me to know?" Harry asked finally stopping and regarding his boyfriend. "And if you know who it is, why haven't you done anything?

"Because I know you. You love going after the bad guys and taking them down, well it's not going to be that easy, especially considering who the damned man is," he tried to explain. "And…we're not sure, which student he transformed into."

Harry wasn't exactly sure how to take that at first. He looked at Draco and Ron as they came running up and was glad they had been with Harry all summer or he wasn't sure if he could trust them completely anymore.

"So it's just as dangerous in the school as it is outside…"

"Why do you think I was worried you were out of the commons a few weeks ago? You should have been waiting for us inside the tower, not out of it. If that man had gotten to you while I was sending a letter…"

"If you ever want to get me to marry you're going to have to try harder," Harry replied in Parseltongue. "Perhaps trust me?" he added his eyes narrowing. All of this came down to trust in the end didn't it?

"It's the rat," Tom finally said letting out a sigh. "It's that fool that had the authorities thinking that your godfather was guilty. He's been sent here not only to infiltrate the school, but to spy on Draco due to his father's requests. Draco's been forced to do some things in order to keep him out of suspicion."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. Peter Petigrew was inside Hogwarts as they spoke and they had no idea where he was or who he was posing as.

"Sirius and Lupin are here, we can have them-"

"This is why I didn't tell you," Tom snapped. "We can't have him caught yet. If we do everything we've been working towards will be ruined."

"And just what have you been working towards?" Harry finally asked feeling tired again. He was beginning to understand just what poor Lupin was put through all the time by Sirius.

"Getting a way back at Voldemort," Tom said.

"You weren't going to let me fight," Harry said realizing what all of it meant. "You thought that I was going to stay behind while you and Draco went after Voldemort. What kind of fool do you take me for?" Harry demanded. "You don't trust me at all."

"Well it'd have been just fine if no one would have opened their mouths," Tom said glaring at Draco.

"You know what, you died down there in the ministry before Voldemort even showed up," Harry said trying to hold back his surge of anger. "It was because of me, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Draco that we even survived. You didn't do a thing. I fought Voldemort until Dumbledore showed up, you didn't. Don't you think I deserve a chance at helping you? I've fought him five times now Aderes, five and I'm still alive!"

"I don't want you hurt!" The tried, but Harry cut him off.

"I'm already hurt. You're so caught up in your revenge that you didn't even realize how much it was bother me did you? If you can't trust me to have your back, if you can't even tell me what's going on…how can you possibly trust me to be your boyfriend?"

"What—"

"If I'm not worth being told, then maybe you need to find someone else who is."

Harry wasn't sure why he'd just uttered those words. He wanted to take them back as soon as they were out of his mouth. Knowing the heir he wouldn't take them as their true meaning, that he wanted his boyfriend's trust, but rather see them as a challenge.

"If I found out you were dead, because of me—"

"I was in danger a long time before you came into my life," Harry said honestly. "I had to live with abusive family members, because they were the only ones who could keep me from Voldemort. I was his target before I could even think. What makes you think I'm going to be safe by not being told?"

The heir didn't seem to have an answer for that. He shrugged slightly, but said nothing. For once he looked his age of sixteen. He seemed like a confused and lost teenager. Harry couldn't get himself to stay mad, at least not right now.

"We're both tired," he started, but Tom shook his head.

"No, you're wrong," he said finally locking his stare with Harry's own. "If I didn't trust you, you wouldn't have that necklace around your neck."

"So you just think I'm completely useless in a fight?" Harry asked annoyed. "That's almost as bad as not trusting me at all."

"That's not what I meant. I know you can fight, that doesn't mean I want you to. How do I make you understand? I love you, I can't handle losing you."

It was Harry's turn to stare in shock then. The heir had never admitted his emotions flat out like that before. Sure when he wanted to try and soften Harry up to get him in bed, but he was actually allowing himself to drop his shields and tell Harry the truth.

"If you love me, you understand why I can't let you fight by yourself." Harry wrapped his hand around Tom's and started pulling him towards the infirmary. Angry or not, they both, no all four of them needed that calming drought. It didn't seem like any of them were showing any physical reactions, but Harry had a decent idea of what was going on mentally.

"So…trust exercises?" Draco suggested before they actually made it to the infirmary.

"It's alright," Harry said before the heir could blow up. "I know this is different and we're all nervous. We need to get over it. I'm sure Hermione is already at the infirmary in tears, because of all of this….Tom do you think that rat has something to do with this?"

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't, but since Hogsmeade is open to anyone, there's a possibility. It's not like Voldemort only has a single follower."

"…That could have went horribly," Ron said his eyes widening. "Draco could have been kidnapped!"

"What?" Harry asked all three of them looking at Ron.

"Didn't…oh right."

"Weasley, can't you keep your mouth shut for even a second?" Draco demanded.

"You have one minute to start telling me what's going on before I rip it out of your mind," Harry growled at his boyfriend. He tightened his grip around the heir's wrist so he couldn't grab his wand right away or make a run for it. "Should we have not gone to Hogsmeade?"

"Probably not," Tom admitted looking away. They were at the infirmary doors now and all Harry wanted was that drink, but he sent Draco and Ron in before closing the door and cornering his boyfriend.

"Why," he said simply folding his arms across his chest. "What are you hiding from me?"

"We were going to tell you after it was over."

"And the two of you were possibly dead? Just tell me or I'm breaking up with you right now."

"You wouldn't dare," the heir hissed.

"Try me." All that talk about trust a few minutes before Harry finds out his boyfriend is still hiding more things. He was already aware that he didn't know his boyfriend well. That there were secrets and years between them that they hadn't talked about, but the Gryffindor felt he should know what was going on now in the present. "Show me that you really do trust me, at least a little."

(TBC)

Okay, still moving things are still being moved around a lot at this point. That's why they're all being put up at one time so no one gets confused, which is exactly what happened with my Falling into Darkness story. Trying to avoid that. Anyway, enjoy.


	20. Left Out

Okay, new ending of chapter 19 calls for a new beginning in chapter 20 to fill in details that way things start to make sense around here in this fanfic. I'd like to bash my head in for the plot hole that caused such chaos in this story (for me the writer since no one else seems to have noticed.)

Warnings (X) is pov change and or time jump. Also, it's shonen ai. Slash, whatever you wish to call it, it is. IF you are not aware of it by chapter 20 of a sequel to a completely shonen ai story, I pity you.

Chapter, 20: Left out

The heir let out a long controlled sigh his attention going everywhere, but Harry. The Gryffindor was not about to give up. He stood firm, his back against the door to the infirmary so the heir couldn't run off.

"The main reason that rat is here is to find out if Draco's just hiding from his father or Voldemort. He was seen at the ministry. Voldemort isn't sure if I forced him into it or if he went of his own free will. The truth is…when this all started out I was using Draco and he was using me. We decided to work together instead. If Voldemort finds that out—"

"So you were both in danger of stepping foot outside of Hogwarts," Harry cut him off. His mind was whirling, there was a conspiracy going on again within the school and his boyfriend of all people didn't tend to things properly it would come crashing down around them. "Do you know how stupid that was?" he demanded. "We could have just stayed here! We didn't have to go."

"Dumbledore sent Sirius and Lupin to meet us there—"

"And while you weren't with us?" Harry asked. "What if they had cornered you while we were at the joke shop? What if we hadn't been in the three broomsticks. That curse was probably meant for you or Draco!" Harry was shaking now so confused between the lack of trust his boyfriend had for him and the amount of stupidity the Slytherin had shown.

"If we hadn't have gone, then that rat would have known we were on to him."

"And then maybe Katie wouldn't be cursed right now," Harry snapped. When he saw the look the heir was giving him he shook his head stepped away from the door. "I can't believe you two would risk your lives for a Hogsmeade trip, of all things."

"It's not like you haven't done it," Tom reminded him.

"It wasn't intentional," Harry countered. He really needed that calming draught now.

(X)

Screams. Flames. The vomit inducing smell of burning flesh. All of these swirling together nearly made Tom want to scream. He knew amidst the chaos Harry lie somewhere, hurt and gasping for air. The fumes were proving to be too strong for the heir however and soon enough he was on his knees trying to draw breath himself. The smoke was making his eyes tear up.

"Tom!"

The Slytherin looked up, the voice of his boyfriend giving him strength. If he could hear Harry, than surely he had to be close by.

Tom managed to pull himself up and stagger towards the flames. Just a bit farther he knew. He was almost there when he froze seeing Harry in front of him. He was tied to something, the flames engulfing it so he couldn't really see, but he knew his boyfriend was there.

"HARRY!"

"Tom!"

There was a loud cracking noise and all of a sudden a burst of pain and he was sitting up blinking before things began to register around him. He was on his bed in the Gryffindor dormitory rather than a massacre. Harry was staring at him, his hand on his forehead; while he stared back breathing hard.

"Are you alright? Sorry I had to slap you…God, you're covered in sweat. What were you dreaming about?" Harry asked worriedly.

Tom wasn't sure if he should say a word, was actually quite shocked that Harry was even talking to him to begin with. They'd been fighting on and off the past few days and the Gryffindor had rarely spoken a word to him unless they were working together in class.

"You were dying," the heir finally said not bothering to mention how. He didn't want to alarm Harry. It had just been a dream and he didn't need to scare him. He expected to be scolded, but instead found Harry wiping his forehead with a cold wet rag. It felt good to the Slytherin and he was soon resting against his boyfriend's chest, the nightmare fading from his mind. "I can't stand to see you in pain…if only Voldemort had never been born."

"Then we'd have never met," Harry pointed out. He grabbed his wand cleaning and rewetting the rag before wiping more of the sweat away.

Tom knew that he was right, but he wasn't about to admit it. He was rather enjoying the attention that Harry was giving him and he didn't want them to start bickering so Harry would keep at it.

"Yeah, but I can't take much more of this," the Slytherin said rubbing his eyes absently and with his free hand grabbed one of Harry's. "When do you think we'll be able to just be us?"

Harry's other arm came around Tom's chest and he nuzzled him gently.

"It's going to take awhile. We have to kill Voldemort permanently for us to be able to do that."

"This is sickening!" Tom growled slamming his fist into his pillow. "I don't want to see you burning to death!"

"Excuse me?" Harry asked looking quite unnerved. "Why would I be burnt to death?"

"Well it's not like Voldemort was going to rape…Damnit"! The heir said. He realized what he'd just said and how he'd been the one to basically rape Harry.

"Yeah, that was your plan. I get the feeling he'd try to get me more willingly," Harry said darkly. "So stop while you're ahead."

"I want you," the Slytherin said bluntly. "I know you keep telling me to wait, but I do. How am I supposed to stop that?"

Harry stared at him silently before slamming his pillow into the side of Tom's head.

"You're so good at convincing," the Gryffindor said sarcastically.

"Doesn't it mean anything to you that I want you? I'm one of the most desired students at our school, but I ignore all of them for you."

"You're not winning this argument," Harry muttered lying back down. "And I'm still pissed off at you about wanting to take on Voldemort without me."

"So if I let you fight Voldemort, you'll let me-"

"No."

"Come on," the heir begged.

"No."

"What if-"

"Damnit Tom, no!" Harry shouted.

The tone annoyed Tom and he glared down at Harry grabbing his wrist. He climbed on top of the Gryffindor with ease and straddled his hips smirking down at him.

"I can take you whenever I want you know. I'm trying to be nice and not force you, but you're really making it hard," Tom hissed.

"Get off of me," Harry warned.

"You have no power at all," Tom said still smirking.

"Try me," Harry growled.

(X)

And so the fight lasted on and off for the rest of the night. That was until Tom nearly got Harry undressed and almost raped him again. Harry wasn't even sure if he even wanted to speak to Tom ever again. The entire year they'd been a team, even last year they had, and when it'd just been him and Draco, they'd managed to work together as well, but now it seemed like Harry wasn't good enough to be part of their group. No, anymore it seemed like Harry was only around, because the Slytherin wanted to sleep with him.

Harry had no choice, but to follow Tom to Dumbledore's office that night, however, because they had their lessons with the headmaster. He'd almost forgiven Tom a few times, especially the night before when the heir had woken up covered in sweat from a nightmare. Harry had even gone as far as to calm him down and get him some water, but his kindness had ended there with Tom pinning him to the bed. By the time morning had rolled around he'd refused to talk to the Slytherin again. He did plan on being decent while they were with Dumbledore so the lessons could go as planned, but that was the end of it.

So the two sat in the headmaster's office completely silent and awaiting Dumbledore's arrival. Tom had asked Harry if he was ready for the lesson, but Harry had only nodded silently. It wasn't so much from being mad at the heir as it was from nervousness as to what they'd learn tonight. Even so, he didn't care when the heir scowled and looked away from him since he hadn't answered aloud.

"So much for not holding grudges right?" Tom asked annoyed. He got up from his chair and walked over to the bird cage that held Fawkes. He opened the door and started to absently run a finger over Fawkes' neck.

"There's a difference between minor disagreements and telling me I'm worthless, not to mention trying to rape me again!" Harry said a scowl on his face. He hadn't wanted to fight, but Tom was making it very hard not to.

"You called me worthless too," Tom shot back completely ignoring the other half of Harry's comment.

"Because you happened to be that night!"

"Ah, welcome, welcome. I see that the two of you are still fighting," the headmaster said pleasantly taking a seat behind his desk. "Might there be any way that I can stop the two of you? Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger have requested from me that I get the two of you to stop so that they might get some sleep."

"Why would Hermione be losing sleep over our fight?" Harry asked somewhat surprised.

"Because it would seem that Tom here has been waking her up to talk to when Mr. Malfoy is sleeping."

"You've been what?" Harry asked looking to his boyfriend.

Harry felt betrayed at the fact that his boyfriend wasn't talking to him about the important things, even if they were fighting. He'd thought they'd gotten over the fear of talking to one another even if they were fighting. Worse, he wasn't even talking to Draco anymore; he had run off to Hermione. Harry wasn't sure if he should be alarmed that or not.

The heir's face went bright red, but he didn't seem like he was ready to give in.

"I need to talk to someone!" he said defensively. "You were ignoring me and I had to have someone to think things through with or I'd have gone mad."

"So you chose Hermione?" Harry asked hotly.

"She listens to me," Tom said looking away. "It's more than what you're doing."

"Oh yes, deciding for me I'm on longer allowed to fight against Voldemort-"

"Well, I don't see where Tom gets the idea that I'll be allowing him to fight against Voldemort either," Dumbledore said getting both boy's attention. They looked at the headmaster, both of them shocked.

"You can't stop me," Tom said walking away from Fawkes and back over to the desk.

"Alas, Tom, I can. You've no power in this matter. So, now that you're both aware that neither of you will be fighting anyone, let us see you make up so we can get along with our lesson."

"And just what makes you think I'm going agree to that so easily?" Tom asked coldly.

If there was one person the Slytherin should have never crossed, it was his adoptive father. Dumbledore stood up, his eyes suddenly cold and he let one of his hands become a fist and hit his desk hard, the wood groaning under the weight of the action. Both Tom and Harry jumped at the action.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," the headmaster said in such an icy tone that the Slytherin actually shivered and took his seat beside Harry.

Harry couldn't believe the reaction Tom was having from just having his full name called out, but a few seconds passed and Tom nodded silently his head lowered.

Dumbledore didn't seem to mind waiting at all. He reseated himself patiently, his hands folded in front of him, a smile plastered on his face.

"I've more power than you'll ever obtain old man," Tom said at last.

"Even if that is true, I still hold power over you, for you are not yet of age," the headmaster said his smile growing. "And you will do well to remember what happens to wizards who disobey their parents."

"I will…" Tom seemed to understand more than what Harry did, because he went pale, looked at Harry and muttered an apology.

"Is that some kind of spell?" Harry asked shocked. He'd never seen his boyfriend give in so easily to anything or anyone. To a certain degree, this actually bothered Harry that Tom could be so easily taken over by Dumbledore. He didn't think the headmaster had the right to drive his boyfriend into a corner and before he could think things through he had his fingers intertwined with Tom's, his thumb stroking the top of the Slytherin's hand.

"Merely a threat," Dumbledore said. "Nothing to be scared of no, nothing compared to the horrors of tonight," he said pleasantly. "So, it would be for everyone's best interest if you were on good terms, because I am sure Tom will be having another breakdown once this is over."

"Oh, that just makes me feel so much better," Tom said, glaring.

"What are we learning tonight professor?" Harry asked hoping to push the conversation into a different direction.

"We shall be heading to the orphanage in which Tom and Voldemort had attended. I'm sure you remember that," Dumbledore said smiling at Tom.

"You mean when you adopted Tom?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, I took Tom in at the age of four. Voldemort was in the orphanage until the age of eleven…however…perhaps I should start explaining some of this," Dumbledore said with a small sigh. "Tom was not always here and when I realized the damage that been caused, because of Voldemort I used a time turner to go and attempt to fix things. I went back to the orphanage and was going to adopt and raise him, hoping that getting him at a young age would stop him from going wrong, however…that was not quite what happened."

"Can we see that memory?" Harry asked. "I mean…well," he looked at Tom blushing and back to the headmaster.

"There isn't much to tell. I went in there to adopt Voldemort and ended up with Tom, while the real Voldemort was still there. I did not realize what had happened until Tom was home with me and he began talking about the other children at the orphanage. It seems there'd been another boy there with the same name, they were twins. You could understand my shock."

"So somehow…just by wanting to adopt Voldemort you actually rewrote time?" Harry couldn't believe just a thought could cause so many things to change.

"Yes, it would seem so. How is a wonderful question, but I'm afraid I do not yet know the answer."

"So…we'll be seeing the younger Voldemort then," Harry said wondering how things were going to go.

"Who you'll be quite pleased is a spitting image of Tom," Dumbledore said standing up. "However, Aderes is in this memory as well."

"Don't tell him that," Tom muttered looking at his feet.

"Yeah, don't give me any ideas," Harry snickered. "I might find him better looking," Harry attempted trying to get Tom out of his daze. He couldn't' stand seeing the heir look so defeated.

"Yeah, I bet you'd sleep with him too," Tom muttered earning a well-placed hit to the back of his head from the Gryffindor. He glared at Harry who merely returned the look and followed Dumbledore to the pensive.

Dumbledore merely ignored their bickering as the two followed him, both of them now staring down at the pensive.

"Do not worry, Tom's nowhere near behaved in this memory," Dumbledore smiled.

"He isn't?" Harry asked grinning as he looked to his boyfriend. The heir's face was still bright red causing the Gryffindor to laugh. "We need to go, now."

Laughing, the headmaster poured the memory into the pensive and allowed it to take form before motioning to the bowl with his hand. Harry didn't need to be told twice and leaned forward into the memory.

They appeared seconds later in old London where a younger Dumbledore and Aderes walked down the street, Aderes' hand in his father's. The much younger Dumbledore had auburn hair and was wearing a plum velvet suit.

The younger Aderes on the other hand was clad in small dark blue robes with pants underneath them.

"He wouldn't change out of them," Dumbledore chuckled as they watched the backs of the two forms.

"I see," Harry said trying to hold back a laugh.

Aderes looked away, his face still red and remained silent.

"Let's go then," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

The two students followed the headmaster down the old roads, horse drawn buggies heading up and down the cobblestone streets. Harry found that he liked this, as it reminded him somewhat of Diagon Alley, only with horses.

The three of them stopped upon arriving at a dank and old building, one that needed much attention by the looks of it. Harry couldn't help, but be reminded of Aderes' grandfather's house from the last memory, but said nothing. The building was surrounded by a large steel gate, but whether it was trying to hold something in or keep something out was hard to tell.

"Place looks great Aderes," Harry said grimly.

"Shut up," he scowled.

The younger Dumbledore stopped in front of the building, nodded and headed up the stairs. The three of them followed the younger Albus knocking on the door and then they waited. A few moments later a distressed looking middle aged woman wearing an apron opened the door. She looked Dumbledore up and down almost as if she wanted to make sure he was real.

"Good afternoon. I have an appointment with a Mrs. Cole, who, I believe, is still matron here?"

"Yes…she's here…just a mo'," the woman said moving away from the door to let him in. The younger versions of Aderes and Dumbledore walked in and soon the present day ones and Harry followed behind. "Madame! She called heading off down the hall. She came back a moment later and nodded. "She's on 'er way." That said she walked off quickly in another direction.

"Was she here when I brought you home?" Albus asked Aderes.

Aderes shook his head silently. He looked quite handsome to Harry now that he finally managed to get a look at his boyfriend's younger self. He walked around the younger Dumbledore and heir as they waited for Mrs. Cole to show up and couldn't help laughing again.

"You're adorable," Harry said at last.

"I told you to shut up!" Aderes shouted.

"Aderes calm down, I'm just saying you're cute," Harry said still laughing.

The Slytherin, however, didn't seem to think he was supposed to be cute and silently sulked over to Dumbledore.

Mrs. Cole came walking towards them a few moments later barking out orders to other apron wearing women. She didn't seem mean to Harry, rather just overly stressed as the other woman had. She mentioned something about iodine before she stopped, staring at the two figures in front of her.

"Tom," the woman said looking him up and down. "You're not bringin him back are yeah?" Mrs. Cole asked narrowing her eyes at the younger Dumbledore.

"Certainly not. I've come to talk to you about his twin brother Tom," Dumbledore assured her. "You see, I told you before I was a school teacher…it seems both of them are to be going to my school, their mother signed them up as soon as she found out she was to have twins, to my embarrassment however we had lost the papers until now."

"I see," the woman said looking young Aderes over again. "He treating you well?" She asked sharply.

"Yes," he said quietly with a quick nod. "Dad and Minerva have been really nice to me."

"That so? Aren't you a bit old to be playing dress up though?"

"Aren't you a bit young for wrinkles?" Aderes shot back at her, his eyes narrowed. He looked rather annoyed and walked off down the hall before anyone could tell him otherwise.

"Aderes," The younger Dumbledore warned, but he'd already walked out of sight. "I apologize; I do try and teach him manners."

"Pft, he's a lot better than his brother, that's for sure," the woman said nodding to a door. The five of them walked into the room, which turned out to be some kind of an office. "So, his brother has a place in the school too huh? How long do you suppose you'll be keeping him?"

"I've my hands full with Tom or Aderes if you will. It gets so confusing and he wanted his own name."

"And he chose Aderes?" Mrs. Cole asked raising an eyebrow.

"Alas, I'm afraid I left him alone to long with some books. Tom however will be attending this school with his brother over the course of the school year. He'll be returning during the summer holiday's however...I hope that won't be much of a problem."

"Not a problem at all. The more I don't have to see him, the better. He scares the kids, Tom…I mean Aderes got off lucky. He used to mime his own brother. Do odd things to him while he was asleep," the matron said shaking her head. "No, by all means. How's T, Aderes doing though?"

"Quite well, if I do say so myself. He's managed a lot of complicated studies and has even mastered two languages already," the younger Dumbledore said pleasantly. "He's a very smart child and I cannot wait to see him performing at my school."

"You actually told her that?" Present day Tom asked.

"Well I didn't modify my memory in order to please you," Dumbledore said winking at him.

Aderes' face turned a darker shade of red.

"He always was you know. Any time he could get away from Tom he'd take the others with him and hide. He'd read to them. Couldn't believe I had a four year old who could read, but there he was. Walked in on him myself one day, all the other kids surrounding him as he told the story. Wish you'd taken the other one," Mrs. Cole said not looking at all regretful for having said the words.

"May I talk to Tom then? I'd like to see how he reacts to-" The younger Dumbledore's voice was cut off with the sound of what seemed to be a loud explosion. Mrs. Cole and Dumbledore took one look at each other before the both of them went running out of the room as quickly as they could.

The two Toms were standing in front of a doorway, the two staring each other down. Tom's fists were clenched and he was growling at Aderes who looked just as angry.

"What are you doing back here?" Tom demanded his eyes flaring. "You're a traitor!"

"It's not my fault I was adopted! I wrote you letters!" Aderes screamed back.

"Boys!" Dumbledore warned suddenly getting both of their attentions. Both Tom and Aderes looked at the headmaster seeming rather pale. "I believe I'll take it from here Mrs. Cole, thank you."

Mrs. Cole seemed more than happy to have an excuse to leave and nearly ran for the staircase. When they were alone Dumbledore pointed to the room, the two younger boys following him. This room consisted of nothing more than an iron bed and a wardrobe. He shut the door behind them. Harry, present day Tom, and Dumbledore barely made it inside and before the younger Dumbledore pulled his wand out and locked the door.

"He really pissed me off," present day Tom muttered. "He tried ripping my robes."

"So you were fashion conscious all the way back then? Harry asked.

Tom went silent again.

"Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves! And Aderes, I thought I'd taught you better than that! How dare you cause any type of explosions-?"

"It wasn't me! It was Tom!" He screamed. "He tried to take a knife to my robes!"

"Tom, do you have a knife on you?" the younger Dumbledore asked glaring at the boy.

Young Voldemort who looked just as Dumbledore had said, a carbon copy of Aderes, shook his head fiercely.

"I haven't done anything to him! He's the one who left me here alone!"

"You were setting snakes on me!" Aderes snapped.

At this point the younger Dumbledore seemed to notice that this confrontation was going down a very dangerous direction and pulled the boys away from each other.

"Now both of you, I don't care if you're friends or not, but you are bound by the same laws. Aderes, have you told Tom anything?"

"No," Aderes growled walking over to the nearby window. "Why would I tell this git anything? I didn't think you were going to be letting him go to Hogwarts."

"What's Hogwarts?" Tom asked quietly. He seemed to have regained his self-control quickly, something that unnerved Harry.

"Hogwarts is a school for magic," Dumbledore said tiredly. He was looking at the twins no doubt having hoped the meeting would have gone better between the two. "And it is where you'll be attending…should you wish."

"So you were just as moody then as you are now?" Harry asked grinning.

"Oh yes, actually I have to say that Aderes was in fact much moodier before he met you. You've seemed to have calmed him down," the present day Dumbledore said before Aderes could.

"That's…possible?" Harry asked.

"TOM! ADERES!"

Harry jerked around to see what the younger Dumbledore was screaming about. Tom had managed to pin Aderes to the wall and was trying to get his hands wrapped around his throat.

"Petrificus Totalus!" the younger Dumbledore screamed, both boys falling over. They crashed hard into the floor, Dumbledore placing his wand back into his suit. "What are you two doing?"

"He jumped me!" Aderes screamed getting a very shocked look from the younger Dumbledore and now Harry.

"You could move while under that spell?"

"I was really mad," the heir muttered.

"So even if I use that spell on you, you can still move if you're mad enough?" Harry asked walking over to him. He wrapped his arms around Aderes' waist. "That's pretty cool."

"It is?" Aderes asked shocked. "I guess it is…"

"Do you need me to take you to Diagon Alley?" Harry heard the younger Dumbledore ask. "It is where you will buy all the supplies you'll need for school. Money is not an issue, I assure you."

The younger Voldemort eyed his twin for a moment before shaking his head.

"I can do it myself," Tom said. "Will I have to be in classes with him?"

"You two are more alike than you know," young Dumbledore said taking a seat on Voldemort's bed. "Tell me Tom. If I had taken both of you home with me, would you really have gotten along with your brother? Family is important and Aderes he's the only blood relative you have."

"He was mean to me!" Voldemort shouted. "He was always mean. He would tell the other kids lie, hurt them pretending to be me and then tell Mrs. Cole it was me!"

"Then perhaps you should be glad I separated you two?" young Dumbledore asked raising an eyebrow. "You no longer need to put up with his injustices. Even so. I hope the two of you are mature enough once you enter the school to not do harm to each other."

"I don't want to be friends with him," Voldemort pouted.

Harry thought the look was absolutely adorable until he saw the eyes. It was easy to tell that Voldemort was lying through his teeth and cared nothing at all for his brother.

"And he's a liar," Aderes screamed. "I changed my name so I wouldn't be anything like you, but I still look like you! I'm going to go home and cut my hair!" Aderes jerked his hand out from Dumbledore's then and ran out of the room.

"Let's go," present day Dumbledore said.

"Don't want him to see the rest?" present day Tom asked, smirking.

"Tom," present day Dumbledore warned and suddenly they were standing back in Dumbledore's office.

Harry did want to stay and see what happened next, but the headmaster was already ushering the two out. He didn't see what could have possibly happened after that that Dumbledore wouldn't want him to see. It was obviously something or his boyfriend wouldn't have mentioned it.

The room looked exactly the same as it had before they'd left, but somehow it felt different. Harry couldn't quite place it and just when he was going to question what it was that he felt, Tom landed on top of him. The two of them hit the floor hard, Dumbledore landing besides them upright.

Groaning Harry pushed the Slytherin off of him and managed to sit up. He was tempted to shove his boyfriend down when he sat up, but decided against it and redirected his attention back to the headmaster. He would at least answer the questions he had since his boyfriend was too stubborn to do so.

(TBC)

Okay…that's about it. I hope that wasn't too confusing. If it was, sorry. So enjoy the update!


	21. Unforgivable

Enjoy, remember, things are changing slightly compared to the originals!

Notes: (X)is pov jump and or time change

Warnings: It's Shonen ai and it's not about to change so deal with it.

Chapter, 21: Unforgivable

"Well, did you enjoy yourself, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, holding his hand out to the Gryffindor. He seemed to be completely ignoring Tom, despite the fact that the Slytherin was directly next to him.

"Thanks professor," Harry said, but he ignored the hand instead pushing Tom up so the two of them could stand up together. Both of them now firmly on their feet, Harry began looking around the room once more before he finally answered. "Yeah, I enjoyed myself."

"There are some things that I would like to explain to you…Some things that aren't exactly clear with Tom there," the headmaster said motioning to his desk.

The two students walked over to the chairs they'd been in just a moment before.

"Now, I would like for you to keep these things in mind," the headmaster said sternly. Both students nodded to him. "Voldemort, or Tom, as you might, did not like to be connected to anything. He wanted to be one of a kind, but that was obviously quite impossible. Tom and Aderes not only shared the same face, but the exact same name as Merope did not know she was with twins. It is one of the reasons why he hates Tom so much."

"That makes sense; Tom didn't like finding out the bartender at the Leaky Cauldron and him shared the same name, either," Harry said remembering the trip to Diagon Alley.

"Well excuse me for not wanting to have the same name as Voldemort…who'd want a name like that anyway?"

"One who knows that no one else would ever think of it…where did Aderes come from?" The Gryffindor asked suddenly curious. His boyfriend had never mentioned once why he'd chosen the name Aderes.

"A book," Tom muttered. "I just happened to really enjoy it." He dropped the subject at that, but Harry stored that away for later to ask Hermione if she'd ever heard of a story with that name being used.

"Now, despite what you may believe given that scene, Voldemort honestly does not care for anyone. It was not the fact that Aderes left him alone at the orphanage that angered him, rather the fact that he couldn't watch his every move. To Voldemort, Tom was the perfect tool."

The gravity of the words set down on Harry quickly, and he found himself looking at his boyfriend with a frown. He was beginning to understand just why Tom was always so offended when it seemed like Harry was using him in some way. The Gryffindor made a yet another mental note, this one to avoid making it seem like he was doing that.

"Didn't work too well did it?" He asked grimly.

"It did at first," Tom said quietly. "I saw my mistakes."

"Yes," the headmaster cut in smiling. "You made the right choice. And finally I would like to point out that though you did not witness this characteristic, Voldemort likes to collect trophies."

"Trophies?" Harry asked nervously. He distinctly remembered learning about muggle murderers who took body parts and such after they killed someone. He wouldn't put it past Voldemort to do such a gruesome thing he just hoped he was wrong.

"After doing mean things to others at the orphanage he would take something of theirs as a trophy. I always had to get their things back," Tom explained.

"Oh…so no body parts," Harry said letting out a sigh of relief.

"No," Tom said, sounding somewhat amused.

"Well, it's getting late," Dumbledore said cutting into their conversation. "So, was tonight better than last time? I promised not to make this as traumatizing."

"Yeah, but now we have more to cover next time," Tom said annoyed.

"So we do," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"Which is what you wanted," The Slytherin said annoyed. "Come on, Harry, if we leave now we can make it to the last half hour of D.A."

"Right, thanks professor!" Harry said as the heir dragged him out the door. "Will you stop tugging on my arm? I can walk!" Harry scolded. They were down the steps a few seconds later, the Slytherin dragging him towards the Gryffindor tower instead of the Room of Requirements. "Where are we going?"

"Oh right," he said turning for the other staircase and heading up it. Harry had no choice, but to follow, the heir easily over powering him at the moment.

"You do realize if you keep this up I'll need to go to the infirmary tonight before we can go to bed," Harry sighed. He'd been dragged up the steps, down the hall, around a few more halls and was now finally standing in front of the Room of Requirements doorway.

"I haven't been…" His voice trailed off seeing the markings he'd left on Harry's arm. "Sorry…?" He asked nervously.

Harry let out a sigh and kissed Tom on the cheek before opening the door. He walked into the room taking a quick look at everyone and was pleased to see that Hermione was doing a good job keeping the students under control.

Everyone in the room was properly using the Aguamenti spell.

"This is wonderful," Harry said grinning ear to ear. He couldn't believe how fast they'd all learned it without him there. To be honest he felt a bit jealous that the club could learn things just as easily with Hermione as they could with him, but in the end he decided it was good. Knowing that Hermione could take over if he honestly needed it meant he could spend more time doing other things if he just wasn't up to teaching.

"Well, they at least learned something," Tom said.

"I'm glad you're both here," Hermione said coming up behind the couple.

"Why, is something wrong?" Harry asked quickly, but Hermione was shaking her head no instantly.

"Of course not, but everyone keeps asking me where you've been, it's been quite annoying actually," she said in a low whisper.

"Well maybe they can keep asking," Tom snapped glaring at everyone in the room.

"Tom, don't start deciding everyone in here is our enemy now," Harry groaned. "I promise you there was just as many people looking for you as there were for me." He didn't want to see the Room of Requirements go up in flames just because his boyfriend was beginning to get jealous of a bunch of students who just really wanted to know how to defend themselves.

"I doubt that. I'm sure there were more looking for me," Tom said arrogantly and Harry felt the urge to shove his wand down his boyfriend's throat.

'So much for being worried,' the Gryffindor though, twitching. 'Of course, I was more worried about the students…' his thoughts trailed off as he looked around the room. Everything still seemed to be going fine, save for the now large forming group around him demanding to know where he'd been until now.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"He never showed up for the lesson," Hermione said after she'd managed to shove a few first years out of the way. "I think he's still in the common room."

"Oh." Harry knew it was stupid to feel disturbed, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling he was now experiencing. It wasn't as if Ron and he spent every waking moment together as him and Tom often did, but somehow not having his best friend in the room made things seem different. "Did Draco come down?"

"For a while. He didn't say anything about Ron, though…" Her voice trailed off and their thoughts seemed to link. "Should we go check on him?" She asked worriedly.

"Lesson over," Harry said, quickly running out of the room.

"Harry!" Tom screamed, but the Gryffindor didn't stop.

Harry refused to turn back, something just made him uneasy, but what was really bothering him, was the intensity of the feeling was as bad as when Ron's father had been attacked in the ministry. He knew he needed to ignore that right now though and make sure his friends were okay.

He skidded to a stop so he could turn down a hall and started up the staircase, Tom and Hermione right behind him. He had no idea if Ron was still in the common room, but it didn't matter. He figured he needed a place to start and that was as good as any. If he was lucky, Draco and Ron were just in bed together and had decided to skip the lesson for that night.

"Tom, did you let Draco out of your sight at all today?" Harry asked taking the steps two at a time up.

"Not that I can remember, I mean besides the meeting," Tom said frowning. "What's going…polyjuice," Tom growled.

"If they saw Draco and Ron kissing, don't you think that gave the spies a tip that he's not exactly doing what they want?" Harry asked.

They all made it to the portrait at the same time, all three of them screaming the password to get in. The portrait swung open and they climbed in at top speed.

The sight that met them wasn't something they'd expected. The fat woman had said nothing, but maybe she hadn't known.

Before them stood what used to be the Gryffindor common room, the seats burned, the curtains torn to shreds, the carpets destroyed. The wooden chairs had been smashed, their pieces thrown into the fire, which was still half-alive and throwing sparks here and there at times. The staircase to the boy's dormitory had been smashed to pieces with no way to possibly get onto it and as if to rub salt into the already deep wound, a small puddle of blood with a lock of red hair placed in its contents was at the bottom of it.

"Tom," Harry growled turning to him. "We need to get up there!"

"Move!" Hermione shouted pulling out her wand. "Reparo!"

The crumbled stones instantly started placing themselves back together and in no time at all they were once again on a staircase and heading up. Running as fast as they could the three of them made it to the dorm door, opened it and could do nothing, but stare. Besides a lone figure in the room, it was completely empty.

Frowning Harry took a step forward, but Tom shove him back and examined the body instead.

"Draco…" The heir said at last looking up at Harry. "He's still alive, but someone used the Imperius curse on him…we need to get him down to the infirmary."

"What about Ron?" Harry demanded.

"He's not here!" Tom shot back. "If we can get Draco to regain consciousness then we at least stand a chance at finding out what happened!"

Harry didn't want to hear it, but knew that it was the only clue they had to go on. Gritting his teeth, he walked over to where Tom was standing and helped him pick up Draco's limp form.

"At least they didn't kill him…"

"Well he would have been useless dead," Hermione laughed from the doorway. "After all, who goes to burden themselves with a dead man?" She slammed the door shut with a large smile forming on her face. "Oh yes, I suppose it would be you Dumbledore followers, wouldn't it?

"Drop him," Tom ordered and before Harry could think of what the heir was saying he'd dropped Draco onto the floor headfirst.

"TOM!" Harry screamed. Yes fighting was important, but putting Draco down gently wouldn't have killed the Slytherin would it?

"Get away from him!" He hissed in the snake language. "Neither of them are our friends, we were tricked."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could they have been tricked? Surely, there had to be some other explanation.

"She could be under the curse too," Harry replied back in the same language. "We don't know for su-"

"She's changing, it's all polyjuice potions, just like the one playing Draco," he assured the Gryffindor. He held his arm out in front of Harry as if doing so would form a shield around them. "If you don't leave now, I'll murder you," he said flatly in English. "Give us back our friends or kissing a dementor will seem like the least of your problems."

"Dementors…I am so _sick_of those awful things!" The death eater playing Hermione said. "Such dreadful creatures when they're coming after you...but you know. They're just the greatest when you're ordering them to attack someone else…and watching them eat someone else's soul…" The death eater began laughing insanely at the thought.

"Incarcerous," Tom growled the ropes appearing from the floors and wrapping themselves around the fast changing Hermione. The new woman before them looked quite sick and Harry was sure she must have just escaped Azkaban. He also thought Tom's choice of spell was very poor until he saw them warping into snakes.

"I keep forgetting you're Slytherin's heir," Harry said bluntly.

Tom glared at him, but said nothing, instead turning his attention to the now clearly formed Petigrew on the floor.

"As for you," Tom hissed. "Start explaining or I use the Cruciatus Curse," he growled.

"Don't you dare! If you cast an unforgivable you'll be sent to Azkaban! Do you see this woman? Do you want to come out looking like her?" Harry demanded grabbing Tom's wand hand as if to prove the point. "I won't have you in jail the rest of our lives."

"Do you honestly think they'll convict us for killing death eaters?" Tom asked arrogantly.

"I think they'll convict you without proper proof that they're death eaters, yes," Harry growled at him. He pulled his own wand out then and aimed it at Pettigrew. "Confundo," he said emotionlessly to make sure the rat didn't give them any problems.

"Then what do you expect me to do? Use Taffy flavored jelly beans?" Tom asked annoyed.

"Use what?" Harry asked in utter shock. "Are you trying to be sarcastic?"

The Gryffindor was quickly getting annoyed given the situation, but it didn't last long. There was suddenly a loud cracking noise. It all happened to fast for Harry to quite comprehend. A blast of red light shot past his boyfriend and seared some of his cheek, luckily missing his eye. Tom screamed and then before them stood both Dumbledore and Dobby, the headmaster looking angered beyond anything that Harry had ever witnessed before. Dobby gave a firm nod and vanished.

"Your friends are fine, safe already in the infirmary," the headmaster said calmly his wand out and pointed at the half tied up witch. It seemed Tom's snakes had been trying to squeeze the woman and she'd managed to get away from them while they fought.

Understandably unnerved, Harry grabbed Tom's arm tightly wishing none of this was happening. Harry was quickly beginning to understand where Tom's destructive temper came from. He'd thought it was due to Voldemort, but it was clearly otherwise as he watched Dumbledore whip his wand around and both death eaters fell to the floor unmoving. Harry took a quick check that the death eaters were indeed breathing, which was good. He wanted to take care of Pettigrew himself.

"I see these things have made it into the common room. I've already informed the portrait not to allow anyone to enter." He gave the room a quick scan, seemed satisfied that there was no one else there and nodded to the two students. "Tom, I would love to see you back in my office after I deal with these two-"

"But Harry and…Draco, Ron, and Hermione," Tom cut in bravely. The headmaster stared Tom down a second before nodding and the heir took Harry's hand leading him out of the room. "Come on you need to get that looked at."

"Is it that bad?" Harry asked lifting a hand to touch it, but Tom hit it away.

"Don't," he scolded him. "You don't want to get dirt in it."

"Right…What was that?" Harry asked when they'd made it down the steps. His cheek was starting to sting slightly. He hoped they'd get to the infirmary before it could feel any worse.

"Oh the mess they caused!" Dobby cried. "Look at this! Dobby does everything he can for Harry Potter and those death eaters come and destroy the nice common room! Bad death eaters! Horrible. bad men!" The house elf snapped his fingers and the chairs began mending themselves.

"This? It's a poor house elf that's gone mad," Tom, said walking passed Dobby as if he was nothing.

"Dobby, you're the one who brought Dumbledore here right? Are you the one who told him someone had broken into the tower?" Harry asked. If that was the case and Dobby was watching the tower, why hadn't this been stopped before it happened?

"Harry Potter sir you are hurt!" Dobby squeaked running over to him and stopping short of hugging him when he saw the glare Tom was giving him.

"It's alright Dobby, just answer my question."

"No I'm afraid not sir. Dobby came when the headmaster called him."

"Which means…" Harry looked up from the elf to his boyfriend. "That sentence you said." When Tom made no move to answer, Harry thanked Dobby and went after him. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"It was something! The second you said that Dumbledore came rushing to our aid!"

"It's our password okay!" Tom screamed his face turning red. "I got into a lot of trouble as a kid. There were always dark wizards and witches after me because of my power and even more so, because I was Dumbledore's adoptive son. I was always a target for things."

"So that sentence…whenever you say it…Dumbledore knows?"

"We tabooed the sentence," Tom said his arm going around Harry's waist. "Gods, I can't believe death eaters got into the common room…and your poor face…" He stopped talking taking one look at Harry's face and then down the hall.

"Does it look that bad?" Harry asked frowning slightly. "If it helps I don't feel anything."

"That doesn't help!" Tom snapped. "That means the nerves have been hit. Why wasn't I paying attention?"

"Because we were too busy fighting amongst ourselves," Harry said looking away himself. Despite everything that had just happened, he could easily see where they had screwed up. It felt like some kind of odd joke that everyone was playing on them, but the blood had been real, the destruction of the common room, and Harry still couldn't believe he hadn't reacted more to seeing that rat lying in front of him. "I was pretty useless back there, huh?" He finally asked when they were just a few steps away from the infirmary. "I froze and thought it was more important to stop you from killing than fighting back. I've never done that before…"

"And how much better we are that you did," Tom said turning to him. "It is not easy to explain a room covered in blood and two death eater skeletons inside of it…in fact Dumbledore will probably keep this quiet," the Slytherin said with a sigh. "If this gets out, they'll try and close the school down."

"I had no intentions of telling anyone. It's not like they'd believe me…"

"Don't even think about it. Let's just go check on our friends and get you fixed up," Tom instructed him.

Still feeling dazed, Harry nodded and the two of them entered the infirmary quietly. None of their friends looked hurt, Draco and Ron were on one bed, both of them sleeping, Hermione on another writing something down on parchment.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked her sitting down in a seat beside her bed.

"Harry! Your face!" She said dropping the paper in her lap and throwing her arms around him. "Professor Dumbledore ran out of here so quickly a few moments ago I thought something horrible had happened! Well…worse than what already has," she admitted looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I got caught," she said at last. "I completely failed you."

"How did it happen?" Harry asked quickly.

Hermione released him, no doubt for both their safety since Tom was looking rather impatient.

"You need to get that looked at.."

"How did it happen," Harry repeated closing his eyes. If they hadn't been taking lessons with Dumbledore, they could have been their protecting their friends. He wasn't even sure if he trusted himself to go back to the headmaster's office without a teacher standing guard now. Definitely no more D.A. meetings when they had lessons.

"The three of us went to the Room of Requirements right after you left for Dumbledore's office. We were going to decide which of us would teach which spell, but when we entered the room they were already there. They stunned us before we could even think and cut off some of our hair," she explained quietly.

"So that's where the hair came from," Harry reasoned looking to Tom. "We were completely set up…but by who?"

"I need to go speak with Dumbledore. You get your cheek patched up," the Slytherin muttered walking out of the room.

Harry was going to say something, but decided in the end that it was pointless. Tom was already gone and out the door and he really did need to get the blood to stop. It was pouring down the side of his face and getting onto his shirt or he'd have never noticed.

"It was his fault," Harry said frowning. "He could have stopped this."

"What?" Hermione asked shocked. "Harry, you can't possibly believe that!"

"He didn't do it on purpose, but because of something he did, they were able to get into Hogwarts." He let out a slow controlled breath and stood up walking over to Draco's bed. "What have you two been up to?" He demanded grabbing Draco by the arm and jerking him forward. "Draco!"

"Harry"! Hermione shrieked, but Harry had already done the movement. He hadn't been able to tell by the way the Slytherin had been curled up around Ron, but now being able to see him up close he could only stare in horror. Half of Draco's skin had been removed from shoulder to lower stomach with what looked to be by a sharp object, the bones underneath showing in some parts.

"Draco?!"

"HARRY!" Ron screamed. It was the first time Harry had heard his friend yell his name like that, but he couldn't blame him. He sounded like he wanted to kill Harry, but the Gryffindor understood. If something like this had happened to Tom and someone hurt him…

"They're regrowing the skin! Don't be so hasty!" Hermione growled. "Honestly, why do you and Adrese have to be so rough?"

"He has the right," Draco said quietly. He managed stay sitting up by leaning against the wall, but all Harry could pay attention to were the bits of bone sticking out. "It was our fault."

"That doesn't mean he should hurt you," Ron said shooting a glare at Harry.

"What did you do?" Harry asked taking a seat on the foot Hermione's bed. He couldn't stand seeing his friend like that and he really didn't want to be anywhere near Ron at the moment out of fear.

"We thought if the death eaters had a way into the school we could pick them off one by one and eventually use it as a way to follow them back to Voldemort," Draco explained. "It was supposed to be a way for me to show my loyalty….Only the entrance was moved. We had no idea that was even possible; they changed it to the Room of Requirements with some inside help, and we paid for it."

"We all paid for it. The common room is a mess. There's blood on the floor, things were destroyed, Tom and I were almost killed, and by the looks of it, so were you three. Why don't you and Tom think these things through?" Harry closed his eyes then for a moment. He'd had the chance to tell Dumbledore, Tom had dragged him out of the office quickly, but he could have went back and told him. He'd made the mistake of trying to gain his boyfriend's trust by not telling and his friends had paid for it.

"We didn't want the three of you involved. We wanted to kill the death eaters and Voldemort so we could live in peace," Draco said his hand stroking Ron's cheek. The red head only responded with a small groan.

"And in leaving us out you put us all in danger," Harry growled. "What about the other students who went into the Room of Requirements for their lesson? Any of them could have been harmed if you hadn't showed up before them; in fact there might be some missing anyway!"

"Harry…it's done with," Hermione said with a frown. "It is okay. It was just the three of us."

"This isn't going to happen again," Harry said firmly getting to his feet and walking out. He was still angry, not just at being left out, but that his boyfriend had done something so stupid and what the result had been. He didn't want to believe Tom of all people who he thought smart could actually be so stupid or that he himself would end up following in his footsteps.

(X)

The Gryffindor forgot to get his wound looked at, but he hadn't realized that until after he was at the staircase to Dumbledore's office. This had been his fault as much as it had been his boyfriend's. Tom had told him, he could have pulled away, he could have told the headmaster. He deserved to be in that room just as much as Tom did getting lectured. Besides, he couldn't let his boyfriend take all the responsibility with Draco in the infirmary.

Taking a breath he ran up the stairs and didn't wait to knock to go in. Dumbledore and Tom both jerked when the door opened. Tom's face was red and he looked like a small child about to burst into tears, Dumbledore an beyond enraged father. Harry knew he was interrupting, to hell with manners.

"Sir," Harry said, which actually took a lot for him to say due to fear. He sat beside his boyfriend as he had so many other times and looked up at the headmaster.

"Harry, your eye has not been treated—"

"It's alright professor. I'll have it looked at after we're finished." The headmaster raised an eyebrow at that and walked towards the desk they were sitting by. "Sir, I—"

"Shut up!" Tom screamed, but Harry managed to move out of the way before Tom could grab him and quickly walked over to the headmaster. His boyfriend tried to follow, but another glare from the headmaster had him frozen in his tracks.

"I knew about Tom's plan, well some of it. I wanted to tell you after our lesson, but I screwed up. I wanted Tom to trust me so I didn't. I thought maybe if I didn't fight about it or push the subject that he would stop hiding things from me and open up to me more. Instead it nearly got my best friends killed. I'm just as at fault as he is."

'Why?' came the mental demand. There was a lot of confusion going through their bond, but all Harry could do was mentally shrug and smile.

'Love is crazy isn't it? Besides he probably already knows.'

'I told him it was my fault.'

'You shouldn't lie.'

"How much is it that you know Harry?" Dumbledore asked taking a seat then. He still looked angry, but Harry could see a hint of amusement in his eyes, something that made the Gryffindor relax.

"I knew Pettigrew was in the school. Honestly, I was hoping we'd find him and…"

"And?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "I wanted to make sure he ended up in Azkaban so he'd endure the same thing Sirius had to," he said shaking his head slowly. "It was stupid, I know."

"Anything else?"

"I knew they were trying to trick Pettigrew into thinking Draco was still on Voldemort's side…that's about it. If I had told you though..."

"Had you told me, yes, some of this could have been avoided," the headmaster said letting out a sigh of his own now. "I would not have four students in need of infirmary attention, yourself included Harry and perhaps the common room would not have been destroyed."

"I'm sorry," Harry said again. "I know it doesn't make up for what happened. I promise I won't let it happen again. If Tom doesn't trust me anymore, well that's not for me to decide," he said pulling the necklace out from underneath his robes. "If you want this back, fine. I'm done trying to prove myself. "

"I don't want it back," the heir said his voice cracking. "Just stop talking."

"Harry. I'm glad you came and told me, even if it was too late," Dumbledore said glaring at Tom when he said the last part. "I do however still need to speak with Tom alone."

"Right…I just. He's not the only one to blame. Please don't expel him. If you do, you'll have to expel me too," he said firmly looking at his boyfriend. "I'll wait."

"Don't bother! Go get your cheek looked at!" Tom screamed, but Harry just smiled and left the office.

(X)

Harry waited for what felt like hours at the bottom of Dumbledore's staircase. He was never asked to come up and join back in the conversation, nor was he ever told to leave. When the clock finally struck two in the morning Harry heard the door to Dumbledore's office open and the sound of footsteps coming. He quickly got to his feet and waited, Tom and Dumbledore appearing seconds later.

"I told you not to wait," Tom said.

He looked extremely pale to Harry, almost as if he'd been dealing with a dementor seconds before. The Gryffindor had made his mind up however hours before and was not going to be thwarted.

"You put us all in danger," he said flatly. "You might as well have just used Draco, not only that, but all three of our friends are hurt and worst of all, you could have prevented this if you'd had just listened to me," he said holding back his emotions. "You don't trust me at all. You don't care about anything, but revenge." He took a moment to let the words sink in and began shaking his head when the heir said nothing. "You were just using us to get to Voldemort, weren't you? You knew if you stuck around that we'd get back at him, and what better way to humiliate him than by taking control of the one thing he couldn't kill?"

"That's not true!" Tom screamed. "I-"

"You can't prove anything at all. Not our love, definitely not our trust. I'm just a toy to you," Harry said frowning. "I'm no one's puppet." That said he grabbed the necklace he always wore, the very thing that seemed to hold his boyfriend's life force. "I can kill you right now," he hissed in Parseltongue. "I want to. I really do, but I can't." He dropped the necklace then leaning forward and kissed his boyfriend on the lips. This seemed to be the last thing the heir expected, because he nearly fell backwards on the stairs. "I hope you'll understand how I feel someday."

"I, I do," the heir said quickly grabbing Harry's forearm. "Everything…most of what I did was for your own safety."

"I am safe. You don't seem to get that. As long as we're together, we're both safe."

"Says the fool with his eye about to fall out of his head."

"If my eye was going to fall out it would have done so already," Harry pointed out. The heir closed the distance between them then licking the blood off Harry's cheek. The Gryffindor shivered, but remained where he was he couldn't deny the fact that he actually liked how that felt.

(TBC)

So yeah. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy if you possibly can.


	22. Bound

For those that took the time, thanks.

Warnings:It's shonen ai, go throw yourself out a window if you can't handle it by now.

Notes: (X)is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 22: Bound

"Tom, I…ahem."

Both students jerked around instantly. The last thing Harry had thought about was getting caught. Common sense said that was the logical end since they were making out in the hallway, but Harry had thought Dumbledore would be staying in his office for a little while at least. Instead the headmaster had come out a moment later and now looked extremely amused.

"While you two I'm sure are enjoying your little get together, Harry should be in the infirmary right now." The headmaster said a smile forming on his lips.

"Right, I can do that," Tom said tightening his grip around the necklace on Harry's neck. It was still hanging there; Harry had forgotten to put it back under his shirt. The heir did the task for him slipping it back under his robes and took his head. "I don't need your face to scar. One is enough."

Harry rolled his eyes at his boyfriend, his face still completely red from embarrassment, not that the headmaster seemed to mind. Rather it seemed almost as if he was completely enjoying himself.

They took off down the same hall, Tom looking at Harry from time to time.

"It is not that bad," Harry finally said. "It doesn't hurt it didn't hurt when you were licking it. I'm fine."

Tom caught his eyes and lifted Harry's hand up gently kissing it.

"…Let me have you."

"Wh, what?" Harry asked jerking his hand away face now not only red, but burning. "I am completely fine with what we were doing. Why ruin that?"

"You said you loved me. So prove it! If you can't, I'll leave," he said flatly.

"I'm not sleeping with you in front of everyone!" Harry shouted taking a few steps back. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, had thought this had been settled weeks ago when they'd started bathing together.

"No, in my room," the Slytherin said seriously. "If you do this I won't ask again. I'll prove to you that I trust you so this doesn't happen again. I want to bind myself to you."

Harry still couldn't believe what he was hearing. His boyfriend must have gone mad and yet, he couldn't deny the feelings of thrill he felt at the idea of them running off instead of going to the infirmary. His cheek wasn't that bad off, he'd had worse. The question was, did he really want to run off with his boyfriend.

"What is binding?" Harry asked quickly. It sounded a bit serious.

"It's a way to prove you love someone and trust in them completely," Tom explained. "I'll take care of all of it just join me."

Harry thought about it for a moment. He was slightly excited from their little bit of fun on the staircase so it wouldn't kill to go a bit farther. He held his hand out then to his boyfriend so he could take it.

"You have to do this my way…no forcing of any kind…if it turns out like last time, I'll never let you in bed with my again," he warned.

"Okay, deal. I won't do anything to freak you out or harm you…I can't promise it won't hurt though," he added a smirk crossing his features.

"Shut up," Harry muttered turning around and heading down the stairs, Tom following close behind.

(X)

Morning came all too fast, Harry wanting to do nothing more than puke again. He'd been fine during, but now that the state of ecstasy was wearing off, he was beginning to feel sick. Somehow the two of them had ended up in the Slytherin's bedroom Hogwarts security really needed an overhaul. The other Slytherin said nothing, granted there were only three of them in the common room when they came through.

"Dumbledore's going to kill us," Harry yawned going to sit up. Tom stopped him short however biting down on his neck. "Nnn…" He closed his eyes biting down on his bottom lip until the heir stopped. "We have to go…If I don't get my cheek looked at, Dumbledore is going to skin us both."

"I know. We have to get breakfast before we're locked away in the common rooms for the day too. Do you think you can eat?" The heir asked almost as if it was an afterthought. He didn't seem interested in breakfast at all though, but was running his hand across Harry's chest idly, no doubt trying to get some kind of response from the Gryffindor.

"If I don't Dumbledore's going to question us even more," Harry pointed out wearily. In truth he didn't want to eat until lunch. "Who am I kidding? Madame Pomfrey probably already told Dumbledore we never showed up."

"I'm sure he's well aware of where we were and what we were doing last night," Tom said finally releasing Harry. He gave him one last kiss on the neck and climbed off the bed walking over to the side of the room and pulling his pants on. "He knows me."

"Yeah."

The Gryffindor managed to stand up and grab his shirt. He caught sight of himself in the mirror on Tom's door and noticed the mark on his upper right arm for the first time.

(Flash black)

"And to fulfill the promise," Tom hissed taking his wand and putting it to Harry's arm. "An eternal bonding…" He tapped Harry's arm saying a spell that he'd had never heard before. Purple flames erupted from the heir's wand wrapping around Harry's arm like a snake and then stretching to Tom's doing the same. It seemed to solidify after that, the flames vanishing. "And now you're mine," he said dropping his wand carelessly and wrapping his arms around Harry's neck.

(X)

Harry hadn't had the time to properly examine the mark until now. It was black now, scarred into the skin with no chance of healing. The image was something he had only half expected as well. The part that wrapped around the upper part of his arm was of course a snake, but there were rose thorns sticking out of it almost as if it was actually barbed wire protruding from within the snake. Inside the snake's gaping mouth was a rose petal, the other petals randomly placed around it as if they were drifting on wind.

"Your's looks the same right?" Harry asked turning around to face his boyfriend. "And this isn't some kind of death mark, right?"

"Of course not! I bonded us together," the Slytherin said with a scowl. "And no, ours don't look the same," he said showing Harry his right arm. The image seared into the heir's arm was a stage lying comfortably on a bed of rose petals.

"Do these things change?" Harry asked curiously.

"If our patronus does," Tom said grabbing Harry's shirt and putting it on the Gryffindor. "Now come on, before the old man finds us," he hissed suddenly worried it seemed that Dumbledore might come charging through the door any second.

"One more question!" Harry said grabbing the heir's arm desperately.

"What?" Tom asked annoyed.

"This isn't some kind of bond where if you cheat on me I drop dead right?" Harry asked dead seriously. He had a feeling if it was some sort of bond like that he'd be dead before the year was over knowing the Slytherin.

Tom stared at him emotionlessly and turned away walking out of the room.

"TOM!"

"I JUST DID ALL OF THIS AND YOU THINK I'M GOING TO CHEAT ON YOU?" He raged.

"TOM YOU FORGOT YOUR SHIRT!" Harry screamed going after him. He hoped beyond everything that neither of them would be dead before the next school semester.

(X)

Somehow the two of them managed to sneak into the Great Hall when none of the teachers were looking. Grinning they rushed over to their table keeping their heads low and took seats beside their friends.

"Hey," Harry said grinning at Ron and Draco. He couldn't help noticing that there was only a thin layer of skin over Draco's cheek and neck where you could see the blood underneath it. Ron on the other hand just looked pale, while Hermione looked just fine. "Sorry if we worried you."

"So you finally got him in bed, huh?" Draco asked shaking Tom's hand. "It took you what? A year?" the Slytherin asked tauntingly.

"Less then, I jumped him before Christmas break last year," the heir grinned.

Harry shot him a dirty look and decided to just talk to Ron and Hermione. He didn't need old memories like that being brought up while he was trying to eat.

"Did Dumbledore come back to the infirmary last night?" Harry asked Hermione and Ron trying to get a feel for the situation. "I know I was supposed to go back and get this taken care of, but I got carried away and…" He stopped seeing the look on Hermione's face.

"No, not really," Hermione said putting her glass of juice down. "Dumbledore paced a bit by the door…no doubt, because you two didn't come back, but he didn't seem too worried, but you should have come back. I don't have my bag with me so you'll have to wait until we get back to the common room to get any healing ointment."

"I'm sure we'll get yelled at soon enough," Harry assured her. "It was a foolish thing to do, but well, he can be convincing sometimes," he said stealing a look at his boyfriend. "And my face didn't hurt so I didn't see too much harm…"

"I know," Hermione said her face turning a slight shade of pink. "Believe me; he's tricked me into doing things for class all the time."

Harry honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to know what those things were and decided to keep his mouth shut. If he got angry at the Slytherin now, he might just go over the edge and take them both out so they could die 'in love'. Usually it wouldn't bother him too much, but his boyfriend had seemed to serious with this bonding the night before, if it all turned out to be a ruse to get Harry into bed he knew he wouldn't be able to take it.

"Ron, listen. I want to show you something when we get back to the common room," the Gryffindor said happily. Suddenly he felt like eating and he put two eggs onto his place. "And Aderes promised to stop harassing me about sleeping with him," he went on cheerfully. "I'm a free man."

"I wouldn't go jumping that far ahead," Draco said quietly.

"Why is…" Harry's voice trailed off as he saw the headmaster walking towards them. He knew this would be coming of course. There was no way Tom and he could get around the fact that they'd never came back to the infirmary the night before, despite all the possible danger and promises. "Oh, that's why."

"Harry, Aderes," Dumbledore said somewhat stressed, no doubt his way of trying to keep himself from screaming. "I would like to see you both in my office, as well as you Mr. Malfoy," the headmaster said.

"Yes sir," Harry replied quickly, the two Slytherins agreeing as well.

"Should I be asking for Mr. Weasley or Ms. Granger?" Dumbledore asked looking at Harry.

"No Sir," Harry said grimly. "It was just us three."

Smiling happily then the headmaster walked off leaving the three to what might be their last meals.

"We're doomed," Harry said hanging his head.

"No, you and Aderes are dead," Draco corrected him.

"Yeah…" Harry agreed. "Guess you'll have to tell me what happened to you later," Harry said looking to Ron. His friend merely nodded.

(X)

And so Harry, Draco, and Tom found themselves back in Dumbledore's office that morning as soon as breakfast was over. Harry found himself desperately wanting to be in the group of students heading back to the Gryffindor tower, but the headmaster had walked them himself to his office before disappearing again to help the other teachers secure the school.

"Did they say what they were doing today?" Harry asked Draco since he'd been the only one in the room who'd gone to the Great Hall on time.

"No. I'm guessing they'll be looking for the entrance though, since I told them where it was. I let them know I wasn't sure where the new location was though," Draco explained.

"So they're going to close it down," Tom sighed. "All that hard work."

It took everything Harry had not to maul his boyfriend where he sat. After everything they'd gone through the night before and their friends had gone through, he was still worried about the stupid gateway.

"Do I even need to say anything, or are you smart enough to realize you're about to get hit?" Harry asked irritably.

"No, I'm pretty sure I understand why you're growling at me," the heir said nodding.

This did not make Harry feel any better, but before he could decide whether or not to kill him the headmaster walked back into his office. Harry swore they'd caused the poor man to age a few years by not having returned the night before, a few new wrinkles seemed to have appeared on his face.

"Tom, Harry, Draco…I could easily have all three of you expelled right now," he said calmly. The gravity of the words weighed down heavily on Harry, but he hoped they'd at least get a chance to explain themselves. "However…I'd rather not expel Mr. Malfoy, as it seems your father has been watching you quite closely, despite his dwellings is Azkaban."

"You knew," Tom said glaring slightly. "Who told you?"

"Severus of course," Dumbledore explained, seeming to get joy out of Tom's anger. "He is one of the professors at this school Tom, if I ask him something he is most likely to reveal it to me, despite the threats you have thrown at him," he added the last part somewhat angrily.

"You've been threatening Snape?" Harry asked shocked. "No wonder he's been giving us such a hard time in class!" Harry growled at him. "What's gotten into you?"

"Yeah, well...might have a few things to do with it," Tom said looking away innocently.

"Tom, you've gone far beyond the realm of normal rule breaking. If you do not shape up I'm going to be forced to send you to Azkaban," Dumbledore finally said.

This got everyone's attention. They were all now looking at Dumbledore seriously, terrified to think if his threat was hallow or not.

"You can't do that," Tom said looking quick to the headmaster.

"Oh, but I'm afraid I can. You were helping death eaters into the school and despite the fact that it was to be a trap, your plan failed. There is no proof anywhere besides your words that you were merely trying to lure them here to kill them, which is also a crime I might add."

"A truth serum," Harry blurted out. "If they use that…there's no way he could be lying…"

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a strained smile. "A truth serum certainly would work…however I have not informed anyone of Draco and Tom's actions as of yet. Rather…I was thinking of something a bit less harsh for the moment." He stood up walking over to one of his many cabinets and returned placing two pieces of purple parchment down onto the desk, two bent and almost featherless quills next to the sheets. "I wish you to sign these."

"And what happens if they sign them professor?" Harry asked nervously. He'd never seen anything like this before, but his hand absently went to his right hand where Umbridge had tried her best to engrave words into. He knew Dumbledore was nothing like that, yet he couldn't deny his uneasiness of magical parchment.

"Simply, if they shall do anything this serious again, I'll have no choice, but to send word to the ministry of magic. Also, this contract will bind them to turn themselves in should they do it in the first place," he explained.

"And if we don't?" Tom asked hotly his eyes narrowed.

"I will send an owl out at once to the ministry," he explained. "Tom, do not think I enjoy doing this. You have left me no choice. I do not wish to see you do something as foolish as this ever again."

Harry thought about strangling his boyfriend now, but there was nothing he could do. Tom and Draco were going to have to sign these papers unless they wanted to be removed from the school and no doubt given the dementors kiss for seemingly helping Voldemort.

"Sir…and my punishment?" Harry finally asked while the two Slytherins kept rereading the papers trying to decide whether or not they should sign them.

"Your punishment Harry? Why I don't believe you were in on this whole "arrangement"," he said raising an eyebrow. "Were you?"

"Not until a few days ago sir, no. I knew they were doing something, but all I knew was what I told you last night," he admitted.

"Than what should I be punishing you for?"

"Well…for running off and not returning to the infirmary last night professor," he said wondering why Dumbledore was playing this type of game. Everyone knew that he and Tom hadn't returned the night before and they all probably had a good idea as to why he hadn't returned.

"Well Harry, I can say that I'm very displeased with your choice of actions…perhaps even a bit disappointed in you, but as you were no doubt in a safe location or else I'd have found you myself, I don't see the harm done, this time," he strained the last two words. "Let us not make a habit of it."

"Of course not. We were halfway back there before…" his voice trailed off and he looked away blushing. Before Tom had tricked him into getting into bed is what he wanted to say, but saying it aloud wasn't going to get any of their sentences any shorter. "But then why I am in here?" Harry asked.

"To make sure that Tom signs this paper and should he not, to realize what he's giving up," the headmaster said happily.

"You're cold," Tom hissed grabbing the tattered looking quill and dipping it into some ink. He wrote his name down at the bottom of the paper, a strange purple wisp running around down his arm and onto the paper. The paper glowed turning a bright blue then and Tom set the quill down. "Happy?"

"Quite, Mr. Malfoy?" It seemed Draco had already signed his some time ago as he was holding the paper out to Dumbledore, his an odd tint of red. "Thank you. Now that is all, you may return to your common rooms, which I must say, you have to remain in them this time."

"Tom and Draco can still come to the Gryffindor tower right?" Harry asked quickly. He knew Tom was going to follow him there anyway, but he wanted to make sure that they weren't going to get in trouble for it this time with all the craziness going around.

"Well, I suppose Tom could, however despite Draco's perfect duties he needs to attend to, he will in fact be in the infirmary along with Mr. Weasley."

"Kind of like to have the skin back on my face," Draco said in a humored tone, but Harry didn't see how that could be amusing. It wasn't like Seamus who'd gone and burnt his eyebrows off a few times due to backfiring spells, but a disfiguration due to an attack from a real death eater.

"Any more questions?" The headmaster asked looking over the three students.

"Should I help Hermione?" Harry asked deciding he might as well. "Guard the tower I mean…"

"That would be a brilliant idea Harry. Oh and Tom…why don't you come with me for a while? It would be wonderful if you were to sense out where the opening was moved to and get rid of any chances of other death eater coming in again? Perhaps we can have a normal dinner followed by a long sleep tonight?"

"Yeah, fine," Tom said a scowl on his face as he stood up. "I'm walking Harry back to the common room though."

"I can get there just fine by myself," Harry scolded him. "You're walking on thin ice as it is with all the things you've done. Listen to Dumbledore so we don't have to be in here so much unless it's for a lesson. He's going to start deducting points and send you to a different school."

Tom stared at him looking uneasy, no doubt trying to figure out if Dumbledore would in fact really do it or not, but he decided that it might be the case and sat back down.

"I'll be careful, I promise," Harry assured him kissing him on the neck. "Don't do anything stupid," he warned him.

"I won't."

"And don't disobey Dumbledore directly to the point he screams and brings down the whole school."

"Whose side are you on?" Tom demanded glaring up at his boyfriend.

"The one, who's trying to keep us alive," Harry replied instantly. "Come on Draco." He gave the heir another kiss and walked out of the room, Draco following close behind. "Do you want me to walk you to the infirmary?"

"Ron's meeting me at the portrait, we're going together."

"Okay," Harry said looking around the halls. He'd never seen the place so silent and cold. He was used to seeing students running from one place to another, late or moving to another class or even a teacher here and there, but there was nothing. "It's almost like it died," Harry said. "It's kind of creepy."

"A bit," Draco admitted. He didn't seem to be enjoying himself any more than Harry was.

"Did he apologize?" Harry asked a few minutes later.

"For what? He didn't shoot the curse at me," Draco said staring at the Gryffindor.

"No, but he started this whole mess," Harry pointed out. "I think he needs to apologize to all three of you."

"Did he apologize to you?" Draco asked beginning to sound annoyed to Harry's surprise.

"Yeah, and then he made me sleep with him," he said sighing. "I guess I shouldn't have accepted it."

"You should have known he had ulterior motives," Draco corrected.

They made their way up the staircase and eventually towards the portrait of the fat woman.

"So he didn't say it, did he?" Harry asked again when Ron was attached to Draco's arm and they were saying their goodbyes.

"No," Draco snickered. "He didn't say it. Just didn't want to see you guys fighting again."

"Please, we're always fighting," Harry sighed. "But I think that's just us…we fight and fight, but if I forgave him after last night…I don't think there's anything I won't forgive him for." They separated then, Harry feeling a bit odd at his words to Draco. Was there anyway that he could possibly get away from Tom? Just removing the necklace sometimes sent him into almost withdrawal effects. He'd found that out the hard way when they went to take a bath once and he'd removed the necklace.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked when he sat down next to her. She'd instructed the head girl to stay in the girls dorm, the head boy in the boy's and so they were alone in the small hall that led from the portrait to the common room.

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to Ron a bit before he left, but he ran off with Draco. Hermione, do you think I was wrong to forgive Aderes so easily?"

"No…Harry I know you don't want to hear this, but I think you two aren't going to be able to distance each other. Aderes told Draco who told Ron who told me after you guys left what happened last night," she said quietly. "That bond wouldn't have appeared if you two didn't love each other."

"You mean he was testing me?" Harry asked his face going red.

"I'm afraid so. Witches and Wizards usually won't do that sort of thing until after their married; it's pretty common on their honeymoons…"

"So he just….I'm going to kill him," he groaned. "He didn't say anything about that. He…I should have known," he said shaking his head. He wasn't exactly mad that he had gone through with it, he was mad that Tom had tricked him once again.

"What does it look like anyway?" Hermione asked changing the subject.

"It's a snake of course…sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I'll just make this easier," he laughed tiredly and removed his shirt.

"Lumos," Hermione whispered and held her wand up to Harry's arm. "My god…it's so detailed…"

"I'm just glad it didn't hurt," he admitted looking at the bonding tattoo. "My parents would have killed me if they were alive and saw this."

"Harry, Sirius is going to kill you."

Harry dropped his shirt his eyes meeting Hermione's own and he sat there frozen. Sirius was going to kill him. He'd promised his Godfather he would be good and not allow Tom to make any quick moves and yet he'd given in even before the autumn term was over and not only slept with him, but been bonded to him.

"Think we can stay at your house for Christmas this year?" he asked hopefully.

"Not a chance," she replied biting her bottom lip.

Winter break was going to be very interesting indeed.

(TBC)


	23. Back to the Infirmary

So it's gone up to 23. How many more to go I wonder.

Warnings:Shonen ai

Notes: (X)is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 23: Back to the Infirmary

The rest of the day passed horribly slow, Hermione and Harry trying to figure out ways to hide this newly formed scar from Sirius.

"These things weren't meant to be hidden," she said nervously flipping through a book 'Magically in love, but now it's over'. "I mean, it's the equivalent to a wedding ring, Harry I don't think this thing is going to vanish unless you and Aderes break up for good…I mean this says even if he dies, unless you fall in love with someone else, it's not going to change."

Harry let out a small groan and wished he'd thought about what Tom had said that night before actually getting into bed with him. Bonding had sounded like a great idea, but he'd never mentioned any kind of markings until it was already seared into his flesh.

"But it's in no way like a death mark," Harry asked her again. He wanted to make sure just so, he could have some leverage should Sirius somehow see his upper arm.

"No, no a lot of witches and wizards do it Harry, I told you it's a lot like a wedding ring…it's very romantic…if Sirius wouldn't kill you for it," she added seeing his glare.

"We can't let anyone know, if Ginny found out she'd be the first to open her mouth to get back at me. I'll be right back." With the possible thought of anyone somehow seeing through his shirt he ran up into the dorm, grabbed one of his class robes, and headed back to where Hermione was. Slipping it on swearing he was cold to a couple of first years who asked him he sat back down across from her.

"You're going to sweat to death, you know this right?" Hermione asked him looking amused. "You know…maybe if we explain this to Lupin-"

"We'd have to do it face to face," Harry said cutting her off. "Sirius reads Lupin's mail from over his shoulder most of the time to annoy him."

"Well…isn't that nice…" Hermione said looking back down at the book. "Maybe if we found a book for cheating on your loved ones?" Hermione said uneasily.

"And then Tom would kill me," he sighed leaning against the wall. "Face it; I'm doomed unless we can talk to Lupin before we get to Sirius' for the holiday."

"I got it!" Hermione said jumping up. "Your turn to stay here," she said grinning and ran off. When she returned she sat down with the book, some parchment, quill, and some ink. "How does this sound? 'Dear Lupin, we need you to be the one who picks us up from Hogwarts for the winter break. We want to go buy everyone's gift once we leave and we know we can trust you not to say a word or try to look at your gift. Try to leave Sirius at home, as he'd be the worst and would ruin everyone's Christmas. Thank you, Hermione and Harry.'?"

"You are brilliant," he said grinning at her. "We can use Hedwig to send it and this should work."

"I know. Once we get him alone in Diagon Alley, we'll bring this up. If there's any way to cover it up he'll know and I'm sure if there's any ingredients needed in order to hide it, they'll be in Diagon Alley."

"I am so glad you weren't put in Ravenclaw," he laughed. "I'd have died years ago if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, you and Ron both," she grinned at him.

After that, the two of them spent time quizzing each other over spells and potion ingredients since Hermione refused to play Wizards chest and there wasn't really much to do after they'd talked about Tom and Krum.

"I wonder if they found the opening," Harry sighed after Hermione had finished naming off every famous vampire known to the ministry.

"Well if they did they couldn't close it or they'd have let us out already," she whispered.

Harry nodded dully knowing she was right. It didn't matter if she was or not though, what he really wanted was to get to the owlery so he could give Hedwig his letter and mail it. Until that was done, he could only worry that Sirius might pop up at any minute, even though Christmas was still some time away.

"Oh and Professor Slughorn is having a Christmas party," Hermione said. "He's asked me to find out all of your free days to make sure you can come."

"He what?" Harry asked staring at her. "Just great…can we bring guests?" He asked. The last thing he needed to add to his list was some party with Slughorn. Maybe if he waited until the day of said party and threw himself off a staircase he could avoid going.

"Of course you can."

"So…I'll bring Ron, Aderes brings Draco…and you can bring…whoever?" He asked to make sure all five of them could make it to the party and he wouldn't have to suffer alone.

"Actually, Krum's vacation starts before ours so…Dumbledore's agreed to let him come," she said her face red.

"That's great Hermione," he laughed. "I mean it; we can all celebrate together then…now if it'll actually be a decent party is another matter."

"They're not that bad," she scolded, but she was still grinning, which told Harry to points they were.

"Of course not…hey do you know if Draco and Ron get to come back today?" He asked curiously. He had just remembered that he'd yet to be informed of what exactly it was that Ron had, had done to him.

"Maybe. Repairing skin doesn't take too long, but Ron's vocal cords were…" She went silent her eyes widening. "Harry I wasn't supposed to tell you!"

"So that's what happened…"

"Sort of…" she said in a defeated tone, "Look, he can talk a little, but not much. I don't know what spell they used on him, but it sent his entire body into shock…He jumped in front of Draco so he wouldn't get hurt. You can see how that went," she sighed. "Harry, if Aderes ever hints at something like that again, I want you to take him directly to Dumbledore."

"He can't do anything like that again," he promised her. "Dumbledore made him and Draco sign an agreement that they'll never do something like that again or they'll end up directly in Azkaban."

"Oh…well I guess its fine then," she said nervously. Harry had to agree that the punishment was somewhat harsh, but at the same time, he completely understood where Dumbledore was coming from and had no complaints about his doing it. If he hadn't the heir would have been making another opening two days later attempting once more to bring doom upon them all.

"I wonder how much…" A clicking noise sounded and both Gryffindors looked to the portrait uneasily. No one was supposed to be coming in or out until the head of their houses said as such.

"Ron!" They both shouted when they realized it was him. They got to their feet running over and embracing him.

"Hey," he said hoarsely seeming to enjoy their attention. "Draco had to go to the dungeons," he explained sitting down once they'd let him go. "And Dumbledore wants you out there Harry."

"Now?" Harry asked his face falling. "So much for us hanging out," he muttered heading to the opening. "We're doing something when I get back, just the three of us," he said firmly. "We're long overdue for some personal time." He waved to them and pushed the portrait open stepping out of the tower. He expected to see Dumbledore standing there and waiting for him, but instead Professor McGonagall's sharp features met his eyes.

"Mr. Potter," she said somewhat grimly.

"Professor McGonagall," he replied returning the look. "Is everything…alright?" he asked uneasily given how uncomfortable their meeting seemed to be.

"About as right as it's going to get," Tom said throwing his arms around Harry's neck from behind. "You're knight has destroyed any means of other's entrance," he hissed to him in the snake language.

"Really? So where is Dumbledore? I don't see my knight anywhere," Harry said knowing the joke would piss his boyfriend off. And sure enough, a few seconds later the three of them were walking down the hall, Tom behind him pouting.

"Why do you have to keep being so mean to me?" Tom asked grabbing onto Harry's arm. "I was good and helped Dumbledore."

"Which wouldn't have even needed to be done had you behaved," Professor McGonagall said scowling at the Slytherin.

"True enough," the heir replied hanging his head.

Harry continued to walk, but inwardly he was utterly shocked that McGonagall had so much control over Tom. If this was truly, the case why in the world hadn't Dumbledore just called her in before and had her set him straight?

'You seem to be listening,' Harry said through the link.

This seemed to catch the Slytherin off guard, because he almost toppled over the Gryffindor a second later when Tom kept on walking and Harry had stopped.

'I don't always try and break the rules,' he mentally growled.

'No, I mean you're not even talking back or making comments…it's shocking.'

"Why do you always assume the worst from me?" He demanded angrily. "You always expect me to be some kind of evil master min-"

"Don't even finish that sentence," Harry said rolling his eyes. "You are the evil master mind of this school."

The Slytherin attempted to say something to counter that statement, but he knew it was true and stopped.

"Fine," he said looking away. "I'm a horrible person."

"As long as you realize it," Harry laughed pulling him forward. "Come on. Your father wants to see you."

The meeting that took place between the four was in fact nothing that Harry had expected. Instead of being yelled at or anything at all being mentioned about the openings, Dumbledore actually was there to congratulate them on the wonderful job they were doing with D.A. and that he wanted them to keep the lessons going. Once they were done, he handed Tom a chocolate frog and sent them on their way back to the Gryffindor tower.

As they were heading back, they saw more and more students filling the halls, no doubt, all of them headed to lunch since classes were canceled, so instead of going to the tower they made a turn and headed for the Great Hall.

"That went unexpectedly well…I wonder why he didn't have Ron, Hermione, and Draco come with though? Hermione at least helps teach the class a lot," Harry said as they walked over to the table. Sure enough, their three friends were sitting at the table already, Ron's face stuffed with a sandwich.

"So make sure…Harry, Aderes, glad you two could make it," Hermione waved. "What did Professor Dumbledore say?" she asked as always.

"He wanted to congratulate us for the great jobs we're doing with D.A.," he said sitting down. He looked at the choices they had and decided the sandwich was probably the safest bet, as the house elves seemed to have added rock cakes to their menu.

"That's great!" She squealed. "Now, Slughorn's party," she said pleasantly now completely calm. "Aderes, you'll be taking Draco and Harry you'll take Ron that way we can all go," she explained as if Harry's plan was her own.

"What party?" Tom asked suddenly glaring. "And why am I-"

"As your guest," she snapped at him. "Your date will be Harry, you'll take Ron that way we can all go," she explained not moving an inch. She'd long ago learned to deal with the heir to Harry's relief. He could sit and enjoy his sandwich happily while the two fought without worry.

"And who are you taking?" the Slytherin asked in a bored tone.

"Viktor Krum," she said returning his glare. "Is there a problem?"

"Speaking of Krum," Draco cut in before Tom had a chance to say anything. "We have a match against each other this weekend," he said absently. "Is your team ready?"

"Of course it is," Harry said confidently. "Is yours?"

"No Quidditch talk at the table!" The heir screamed, his fist slamming hard into the table causing some of the closest glasses to shake.

Harry jumped at the action, his head turning to look at Tom. He knew his boyfriend was against Quidditch, but he'd never seen him so worked up about it given that all their school work was done.

"Calm down, we're just talking," Harry said in an attempt to get the Slytherin under control. "We've had tons of matches against each other and we're still friends, are grades are up, our homework is being completed, what can you possibly have against the sport anymore?"

"I hate Qudditch," he growled.

"We know that," Harry said flatly. "I'm just trying to figure out why. We still spend a lot of time together so don't use that excuse." The heir opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it and closed his mouth only to open it again two seconds later.

"I'd rather see you take up swimming," he said oddly.

"What?" Harry asked not believing his ears. "When did you even hear-?"

"I was in a muggle orphanage," he pointed out. "Dumbledore and…You swam in the Tri-Wizard tournament!" he growled.

"Yeah I did…I guess I just don't see swimming as something normal in the…Tom…how did you know I swam in the tri-wizard tournament? You weren't here and we've never talked about it…" His voice trailed off seeing that his boyfriend had already walked out of the Great Hall with no explanation at all. "What just happened?" he asked the other three.

"I don't know…but he looked pretty sick when you brought up the tournament," Hermione said uneasily. "It's been awhile since I've seen him with that look."

"Wonderful, he's hiding something, again," he said annoyed. "When does he run out of secrets?" he demanded from no one in particular. He was sick of thinking he'd unlocked what was his boyfriend only to find twenty more doors.

"When you forcibly read his mind?" Draco suggested moving his pumpkin juice aside and kissing Ron on the neck. "Your throat feeling any better?"

"Yeah," Ron grinned at him.

"I should go after him, shouldn't I?" Harry finally asked once he'd finished his sandwich.

"I would think so, yes…" Hermione said quietly.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later…I'll mail the letter too," he told Hermione before waving to the others and walking out. 'I'm going to the Owlery if you'd like to join me,' he told the heir.

"Why are you going to the Owlery?" Tom asked curiously only a few steps away from the Gryffindor.

Getting the answer aloud and so close made Harry jump and he ended up having to catch his breath before he could calm down.

"DON'T DO THAT!" he screamed at him leaning against the wall so he wouldn't fall over. "And I need to mail something to Lupin," he said when he could finally breathe again. With air now back in his lungs he began his journey, the heir beside him.

"Fine, what's in this letter?" the Slytherin demanded.

It was obvious that he was getting annoyed, but Harry really didn't want to tell him straight out, not yet anyway.

"A trick so he can help us out," he said playfully.

"Why would we need help?" Tom asked staring at Harry.

"Fine, you explain to Sirius why I've a giant snake wrapping around my arm. I'm sure he'll understand," he said facing his boyfriend, arms folded across his chest.

"…To the Owlery!" he said in an over enthusiastic tone while heading down the hall quickly. "I completely forgot about that thing," he muttered when Harry had caught up.

"My Godfather is not a thing," Harry said coldly.

"Well, Dumbledore and McGonagall saw mine, he noticed it while we were searching…he just looked at me and shook his head. Your "Godfather" will be trying to remove our skin off layer by layer until it's gone."

"He's not that bad…is there any way to hide these things though?" Harry asked hopefully. He hoped that his boyfriend would know considering he'd been the one to cast the spell in the first place.

"Don't you think I'd have done that before going near my…Dumbledore?" the heir asked.

Harry shrugged, but had a feeling that if Tom could hide them he would have, especially from Dumbledore. The headmaster after all had trusted them not to do anything stupid and as far as Harry could tell, the markings had been a very stupid move.

"Your Dumbledore?" Harry asked grinning trying to get his mind off the possible impending doom.

"You know what I meant," Tom growled looking away.

"Your father," Harry laughed.

"Shut up!"

The two managed to mail the letter, Hedwig giving Harry an affectionate nip on the ear. When Tom tried to get near the owl however, Basilisk flew down landing top of his head and brought his claws right into his scalp.

"YOU DAMN BIRD!"

"Oh you sound like Uncle Vernon now," Harry teased him watching the Slytherin and his owl go at it. This lasted a few minutes, the heir losing any dignity he had left. Basilisk flew off the first chance he got, leaving another scratch across Tom's face and happily seated itself on one of the highest rafters.

"I'm going to fry it," Tom growled taking out his wand.

"Tom!" Harry yelled grabbing the Slytherin's wand. "Don't even think about it. Come on," he told him walking out of the room, Tom's wand still in his hand. When he got to the door, he smirked at him and took off running with it.

"H, hey! That's mine you thief!" Tom screamed going after him.

(X)

"Remus, you got some mail," Sirius said handing his boyfriend the letter. "Look what I got," the animagus said holding up Harry's bird cheerfully.

"Hedwig," Lupin snickered stroking the owls' side gently. "I wonder what Harry wants?" He asked aloud opening the letter and scanning it. "Hmm…"

"What's it say?" Sirius asked quickly. "They're not hurt right? No one's sick, they're still coming for Christmas…that damn Slytherin has them going somewhere else doesn't he?" He growled starting to pace. "I'll murder him. Well first I'll get Harry to break up with him, then I'll murder him…And tha-"

"Sirius, shut up while you're ahead," Lupin sighed setting the letter down and standing up. "I'll be right back Hedwig so I can give you a reply for Harry." He walked out of the room calmly leaving Sirius alone. This was a huge mistake, but he wasn't about to point it out to the werewolf.

Grinning evilly, he grabbed the letter and read it expecting to find some horrible details or some secret that was supposed to be kept from him only to see what the true contents were.

"Here you go Hedwig," Remus said pleasantly handing the owl his reply. She hooted before taking it and flew off instantly leaving the two alone once more.

"How…I would not tell everyone!"

"You would too," Lupin grinned at him. "You have a big mouth, it got you into Azkaban if I remember correctly," he laughed wrapping his arms around the animagus.

"You're so mean to me," he joked returning the embrace.

(X)

Harry walked into the common room laughing, his hair tousled more than usual, his shirt stretched to one side and breathing hard. Tom followed behind looking just as bad, in reality a bit worse because of Basilisk's scratches.

"I forgot to tell you Ron, Hermione, and I are going to Hagrid's so we can hang out just the three of us," he said trying to push some of his hair down as they passed by some first years. "You and Draco can hang out too."

"What, Draco and I aren't good enough?" Tom demanded his eyes narrowed.

"It has nothing to do with that, we want to spend some time together, don't you ever want to spend some time alone with Draco, just as friends?" Harry asked.

"No, not really," the Slytherin said bluntly.

"Well, pretend you do," Harry said twitching. "Just a few hours tops. We'll go down, say hi, and come right back up."

"And that's going to take a few hours?" The heir asked in disbelief. "What kind of a fool do you take me for?"

"You spent a great deal of time with Draco over the summer by yourself," Harry pointed out.

"We were catching up. We finished that months ago."

"We'll take a bath when I get back," Harry promised.

"Deal!" The Slytherin agreed shoving Harry through the rest of the common room and up the stairs to the boy's dorm. They were almost there when they heard a few screams and stopped looking at each other.

Harry couldn't believe there could be another attack so soon, but he had not calmed down from the first attack and started up the rest of the steps two at a time until him and the heir ran into the room looking around. What the Gryffindor expected to see was someone hurt, but instead they found Draco on his knees and a place where he'd thrown up to his side, Seamus looking quite sick himself now standing on top of his bed. The other occupants didn't seem much happier, only Neville seemed to remaining calm.

"You're a bunch of girls," Tom hissed shoving passed them. He helped Draco up walking him over to Ron's and his bed handing him a nearby garbage can. "Use this."

"Yeah," Harry said using his wand to clean up the mess on the floor. "So first you're attacked and now you're sick. What are we going to do with you Draco?" Harry asked slipping his wand back into his pocket. "Where's Ron?"

"Back at the infirmary getting his vocal cords worked on," Draco said a few moments later. "I'm fine, just ate some bad snacks."

"Nothing from the twin's shop I hope?" Harry asked frowning. He wasn't sure, if he could get a hold of the twins soon enough given that Hedwig was off delivering a letter to Lupin.

"No, I accidentally grabbed a rock cake instead of a normal muffin, only…I think there was something wrong with them."

"Did you eat the whole thing?" The Gryffindor asked feeling a knot tie in his stomach.

"No…Half of it is in the trash bin near Neville's bed."

"Tom…take him to the infirmary I'm going to ask Dumbledore about this," he said walking over to the trashcan to remove the half-eaten rock cake. Something about this just didn't sit right with Harry and he knew he wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't do something about it. Not after what had happened the night before.

"No way, you're not going to the headmaster's alone," Tom, said looking at Draco and back to Harry.

"Why not? Draco needs to go to the infirmary, there's no telling what might be in this thing," Harry argued.

"There would have been more reports. He couldn't have been the only one to eat one of those things…we'll take him together and give the dessert to the nurse."

Harry didn't exactly like the idea, but seeing the look on the heir's face told him he didn't have much of a choice. Tom was not going to let him dodge this one. Sighing the Gryffindor nodded and grabbed Draco's hand.

"Come on, bring the can just in case," he instructed pushing the trash bin into Draco's hands.

So once again, the three of them left the tower, Harry wondering if he'd ever get to see his four-post bed again for more than three minutes at a time. They didn't talk at all, as they headed to the infirmary, giving Harry some time to think. He kept wondering just how many people may have actually gotten sick from the rock cakes, but if that'd been the case, wouldn't the head of the houses been told? Surely, they'd have been warning everyone not to eat the cakes and treating all those that had.

"I wonder if maybe it was just at the Gryffindor table," Harry said at last. "I mean…we all basically know not to touch Hagrid's cooking…but Hagrid wouldn't be cooking for the school."

"True…the house elves do…you don't think one of the house elves…" Tom let his voice trial off, but what he was going to say was evident enough. Someone may have possibly ordered their house elf to come to Hogwarts and do damage, possibly one of Lucius' house elves.

"Let's just get him to the infirmary."

When they arrived, Madam Pomfrey took one look at them, shooed them away from Draco and took him to the nearest bed.

"What's wrong with him?" Ron asked walking out from behind some curtains. His throat looked raw as if it'd been rubbed with a hard sponge.

"Sick," Harry said smiling at him. He didn't want to get his best friend worked up over anything if it was just an odd coincidence. After all, Draco could simply be allergic to something that was in the rock cake. "He ate this and threw up," Harry said handing it to the nurse. "We think he might be allergic to something in it…think you could check?"

"I see…yes, of course. If he's allergic his family needs to know," she said quickly placing the dessert onto her desk and then walked back over to Draco shoving a cup with green liquid into his hands. "Drink this," she ordered.

The Slytherin nodded and started sipping at it, making faces every now and then.

"Doing good Ron?" Harry asked unable to watch Draco drink the stuff. Ron however looked just as sick and he had to stare at the ceiling instead.

"I've got things under control, out," Madam Pomfrey, said shoving them towards the door.

"We'll talk to you later!" Harry shouted back to them before the doors to the infirmary were slammed shut behind them. "How nice of her…."

"She didn't mention anyone else getting sick from the rock cakes…I don't think anything is wrong with them," he said looking at Harry. "Come on; let's head back to the tower…again."

"So you feel as tired as I do walking back and forth," Harry laughed leaning his head on Tom's shoulder. "How many times have we run around the castle today?"

"To many considering we had no classes," the Slytherin snickered.

"I hope you're right and that's all it is…we've been having way too much excitement these past few days…I just want to relax." He let out a long sigh realizing he was much more tired than he'd thought. "I just wish this was all over."

"Soon enough," Tom said wrapping his arm around Harry's waist tightly. "Soon we'll get rid of Voldemort and we'll be able to walk outside freely without any worries," he said cheerfully. "And we can do whatever we want…so long as your godfather doesn't jump us for it."

"Stop using Sirius as an excuse," Harry laughed. "If he chases us around after this is all done then we just need to run for a while." He kissed the heir on the neck before lying his head back down on his shoulder. "Besides…Lupin wouldn't let him ruin all our dates."

"True…Lupin seems to have some kind of brain in his head, but love talks," Tom pointed out. "If Sirius begs him enough, he just might give in."

"Lupin wouldn't turn us over that easily. We'd have to anger him first."

"I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I'll buy him one of the greatest gifts ever."

"I wouldn't, Sirius might get jealous," Harry, laughed. "Then you'll be right back where you started."

"You know…you have one messed up family," the heir said before he started laughing himself. "Like mine is any better."

"No, they're not, but that's okay. Perfectly normal isn't exactly the way to go," Harry snickered as they once again made it into the common room. "We'll take a bath tomorrow; I'm too tired to go tonight."

"That's fine," the Slytherin said without any bitterness. "I'm tired myself." They made it back into the dorm room soon enough and climbed into the bed.

Harry got under the blankets quietly, the others in the room already asleep. Tom joined him a few seconds later and the two as always began to drift off in silent sleep side by side.

(TBC)

Well, there you guys go, sorry it's not the best chapter, but it's what I had to type for now. Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit more…interesting?


	24. Bodyguards

Okay, another update!

Warnings:It's Shonen ai, get over it for crying out loud. Harry will NEVER be with a girl in this story. If he even so looks at Cho in a bad way, Tom will, have them both murdered so to save the characters from even more harm, they'll be staying together.

Notes: (X)is time jump and or pov change.

Chapter, 24: Bodyguards

"ADERES! POTTER!"

"DAMNIT!" Tom screamed jerking Harry out from what had been a peaceful slumber. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW WE WOULDN'T GET ANY TIME TO SLEEP!" the Slytherin raged.

"What's going on?" Harry asked tiredly. He sat up in the four-poster bed trying to find his glasses on the side table. It was still dark outside so there was no way they'd overslept, but given the tone of McGonagall's voice, something was wrong.

"Both of you, up, quickly," she ordered them.

"Why? What did we do? I haven't left this room and neither has Harry, I swear. Just let us get some-"

"Mr. Malfoy has been sent to St. Mungo's," she said sternly. "Now, if you do not wish for me to get the headmaster in order to retrieve you himself-"

"I'm coming," Tom, groaned shoving the blankets off the bed.

Harry hadn't realized just how cold the dorm room actually was until the blankets were removed. He felt like grabbing the blanket and bringing it with him, but thought better of it. Instead, he dragged himself out of the bed grabbing his robe and putting it on. In the corner of his eye, he could see his boyfriend doing the same.

"Is he alright?" Harry asked finally managing to locate his glasses. He slipped them on and instantly he could see everything in the room as if his glasses doubled as night vision goggles.

"Dumbledore will explain everything in his office," she said leaving no room for debate, not that this stopped the Slytherin.

"Why doesn't he come here and explain things?" Tom asked grabbing Harry's arm. "It's freezing in here without the blankets!"

"Will you two boys stop whining and come on?" McGonagall snapped walking out of the room.

Everyone else in the room was of course awake by now and watching as Tom and Harry departed.

'Ron's not in his bed,' Harry told Tom through the mental bond. 'I wonder if he's with Draco?' Harry asked worriedly. He'd expected Draco to have returned in the middle of the night while they were sleeping, but neither he nor Ron had and with the way McGonagall was acting meant that the reason they were missing couldn't be a good one.

'He might be,' the Slytherin said eyeing the bed once before exiting the dorm all together. They made it down the staircase and out of the portrait silently unsure of what to expect anymore.

In fact, Harry was beginning to feel his stomach tie into a knot again with the way things were happening. This night was reminding him all too well of the one just last year before Christmas break, only it'd been Ron's father, not Draco.

"It'll be alright," the heir said obviously having read Harry's thoughts. "Draco's made of tougher then-" Tom cut himself off letting out a scream before his body collided with the wall.

Harry had barely any time to react before he saw another figure come into view and remove the first one away from his boyfriend. Seeing this as his only chance Harry jumped in front of Tom his wand coming out.

"Another attack?" he hissed his eyes narrowing.

""At least jump the right one," the voice groaned before letting the first figure go. "I'm sorry Harry, I'm half asleep."

"Lupin?" Harry asked in shock lowering his wand. "What are you doing here?" The last person Harry had expected to run into in the hall was Lupin, considering that just a few years back he'd been forced to remove himself from the castle, because he was a werewolf, yet here he was.

"I'm supposed to be helping watch the corridors at night after what happened the other day…however I seem to have gotten stuck babysitting," he admitted.

"Which means.…"

"Hey Harry!" Sirius said happily once he'd managed to get around Lupin. "I meant to tackle you, who'd I get?"

"You jumped Tom," Harry said flatly his heart still going twenty miles an hour. This was the last thing he needed or wanted. He'd just been happily asleep in his bed, curled up with his boyfriend, now these two were here, and he doubted he'd ever get to sleep again.

"Will you three stop fooling around?" McGonagall growled coming down from the staircase. "Professor Dumbledore is waiting!"

"Coming professor," Harry said quickly grabbing Tom by the hand and leading him up to the office. The last thing he needed was for the heir to decide to retaliate against Sirius and a full-blown war break out just outside of the headmaster's office. "Behave."

"Me behave? It was your bloody godfather that just tried to kill me! I didn't even sense him!"

"Because you let your guard down…was it, because Professor McGonagall was around?" Harry asked curiously. Tom always seemed to be on guard no matter what they were doing, but to have him so easily jumped by his godfather seemed odd.

"It had nothing to do with her," The heir growled, but Harry could swear he could see him blushing. Harry was even going to go as far as to ask a follow up question, but they were soon standing in front of the headmaster's office door and he thought better of it.

"Come in," Dumbledore said before Harry even had a chance to knock. The door opened and soon all five of the people who'd been in the hall were now in Dumbledore's room. "Ah, Remus, Sirius, thank you for coming on such short notice. Tonks I take it is in Hogsmeade?"

"Yes professor," Lupin said smiling. "And we're honored you'd ask us to protect Harry and the other students of this school."

"And so you have all earned it!" The headmaster said cheerfully before turning back to Harry and Tom. "And so you have been targeted…Do you know what has happened to Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not really sir, Professor McGonagall wouldn't tell us in front of everyone," Harry admitted.

"Nor should she have Harry. You see it would merely cause panic if this got out…you see those rock cakes that somehow got mixed into dinner had been…tampered with if you will."

"Tampered with in what way sir?" Harry asked in horror. He'd never heard, had never even thought that the school's food could be messed with in any way. When he was at Hogwarts, save for when Umbridge was patrolling the halls, he always felt completely safe. Now however things seemed to be changing, as just walking into a room could lead you straight into a trap to be murdered.

"Who cares, they were messed with, Draco ate one, and now he's sick," Tom said with a scowl. "Who did this?" the heir demanded.

"That we are not aware of, however we have come to the conclusion that it was you Tom and not Draco that were their target," the headmaster explained taking a seat behind his big desk. "Would you like to know what we found inside the rock cake you left with Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes," Harry said placing his hand over Tom's mouth before he could say a word.

"He's getting better at reading him, that's for sure," Harry heard Lupin whisper. For some reason this annoyed him. "We think it had to be a house elf that someone sent that somehow managed to get in with the other elves and put the ingredients in the Gryffindor's food. None of the other houses had any contaminations," Lupin explained.

"There were salamander scales inside with a hint of banshee blood," Dumbledore explained. "Do you know what this does?"

"It means they're trying to flat out kill me," Tom managed once he'd forced Harry's hand away from his mouth. "And Draco got it."

"Fortunately for Mr. Malfoy he does not happen to be a spirit currently in an unbalanced form. Granted you are quite close to achieving your solid self again…Can you even use your spirit form anymore?"

"I don't think so," the Slytherin admitted. "I've had no use for it."

"I don't get this, what does Salamander scales and banshee blood do?" Harry asked before anyone could say anything else. He felt embarrassed that he had to even ask this as even Sirius seemed to know what these two things mixed together did, but he'd never even heard of someone making such a mixture.

"Well basically, it would send my spirit into flames and rip it out of the solid form destroying both," Tom explained uneasily. "Since I've managed to almost completely connect my spirit to my solid form I don't think it would have killed me, but…"

"You would have been badly hurt," Harry finished for him. "And what about Draco?" The Gryffindor asked worriedly. "Is he going to be okay?" The more he heard about this stuff the worse he felt.

"The insides of his stomach were being burned from the inside out. Luckily, since he was taken to the infirmary so fast and he'd been throwing up the contents of the rock cake, there was not much damage done. He should be returning within the next few days."

"And Ron's with him?" Harry asked.

"Yes," the headmaster said smiling. "Mr. Malfoy would not leave the school less Mr. Weasley accompanied him and so him and Ms. Granger went with."

"Good. So now what?" Tom asked.

Harry was shocked to feel Tom's hand go for his, but he let him. This was obviously freaking the heir out much more than he was letting on, but this was how things tended to play out anyway. His boyfriend always acting like nothing bothered him, when in reality he was actually having a panic attack complete with a nervous breakdown.

"First of all," Dumbledore said tiredly. "The five of you will be eating alone in the Gryffindor tower. Dobby and Mrs. Weasley alone rather than the other house elves will prepare your meals. We cannot afford to lose any of you. Also, Sirius will be accompanying you from class to class as needed, during the night he'll be with Remus inspecting the grounds."

"And when do you sleep?" Harry felt the need to ask staring at his godfather.

"I'll sleep when you sleep," he assured him. "After dinner I'll be helping Remus with the grounds then after my watch I'll go to bed."

"And, the two of them as well as Nymphadora-"

"Bet she just cringed right now-" Sirius said.

"I ask however that you stay away from Hogsmeade until this has been taken care of. Are there any questions?"

"So we're basically being put in a prison?" Tom asked glaring at Sirius. "Why is he watching us? Did we run out of good order members?"

"Because these two will do whatever it takes to protect you and that is exactly what you need right now," Dumbledore said his expression turning to stone. "And I expect you not to give them a hard time."

"Yeah brat," Sirius said twitching. "If you do I'll be forced to make you spend detention with Slughorn."

"Right," Tom growled standing up. "So now I don't have to just put up with him during the holidays, he is my warden."

"We can-"

"That's right snake boy. I get Harry all to myself now. You're going-."

At this point Harry had shut the door to Dumbledore's office after saying his goodnights and dragged Lupin off with him.

"Let them find their own way back to the tower," he muttered. This was the perfect distraction for him to get Lupin away from Sirius and ask him, as his problem had suddenly gotten a lot worse. With Sirius going to be around him daily there were now limitless possibilities for his godfather to find out about the markings.

"If Professor Dumbledore lets them live that long," Lupin agreed with a smile. "I suspected there was something you needed in that letter, especially now that you're dragging me away from Sirius without your boyfriend."

"I have a problem," Harry admitted letting go of Lupin's arm. "And Sirius is going to kill us if we don't find a solution of some sorts."

"Do you enjoy making my life harder?" Lupin sighed.

"No, but it's not like I did this to myself, Tom did," Harry said. When he was sure, no one would be able to just suddenly walk up on them he removed his robe and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Harr-"

"It's fine," Harry said shaking his head. "He didn't slash my chest open or anything." When he removed the shirt completely he heard Lupin let out a loud gasp and the werewolf even went as far as taking a step back.

"….Well this is going to be wonderful trying to explain…Harry why in the world did you agree to this? Is there one on Aderes as well?"

"Yeah," Harry said frowning. "We have different designs, but it's the same thing. Sirius can't see this, there's a way to hide these things right?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not Harry, these markings aren't meant to be hidden. They're proof that you and another wizard….are well bound to one another."

"Which is fine," Harry said honestly. "I don't care if the rest of the world knows, but Sirius can't find out right now!" All of Harry's hopes were quickly being sliced in half and he almost felt like finding the nearest window and jumping out of the castle. There was no way his godfather would stand for such a ritual taking place between the two boys.

"Well, if you're desperate and I'm sure you are…there's a way to hide death marks…I wouldn't think it would be painful like hiding a death mark would…are you willing to give it a try?" Lupin asked.

"Anything," Harry said quickly. "And Tom's going to need it done too."

"I'll speak with someone tonight and get the spell. It shouldn't be too hard…just keep it hidden until tomorrow at dinner," Lupin instructed him. "Now I need to go pry Sirius off of Aderes before the headmaster does…."

"More like pry your boyfriend off the wall," Tom growled walking over to them. "He's okay," the heir added seeing the look on Lupin and Harry's face.

"He better be," Harry said glaring. "I know he can be annoying, but he just likes pushing your buttons. Half of it is your fault."

"My fault?" Tom asked in shock. "How is it my fault?"

"You get so worked up with the things that he does that it makes him want to harass you all the more. If you'd just ignore him when he's being insane he might actually be normal for once."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Lupin said waving to the two and walking off.

"I won't," Tom, said earning a hit to the back of the head from Harry. "Hey!"

(X)

Harry awoke all too soon the next morning. He wished and hoped to anyone that was listening to let last night's events had been nothing more than a nightmare, but upon dressing and walking down the staircase, he saw Sirius lounging in one of the chairs next to the fireplace a daily prophet in his hands.

"This is going to be a long day," Harry muttered walking over to his godfather. "Hey Sirius." He took a seat beside the animagus and yawned. Since his breakfast was going to be served in the common room anyway once everyone else left, he decided it was pointless to leave just yet.

"Hey," Sirius grinned folding the paper up. "I have to say I love being in this common room again. It hasn't changed a bit."

Harry couldn't help smiling at this. It was rare that he got to see his godfather at all, but now that he was here at Hogwarts perhaps, they could start trying to fill in all the blank sheets in their relationship. Things he wanted Sirius to know, but had never had the chance to just sit down and tell him.

"So you're going to be eating breakfast with us? What about Lupin?"

"Remus is taking his meals and stuff down there," Sirius said glaring at the window towards Hagrid's hut.

"Well aren't you lucky, we have care of magical creatures today," Harry snickered. "We'll be down there right in front of Hagrid's house." Harry swore he saw his godfather's eyes light up.

"Oh, he's here already?" Tom asked walking over to them. "Hermione will be down in a minute," he added dropping down onto the couch and putting his head in Harry's lap. "When she heard that Sirius was going to be taking meals with us she freaked out and decided to get ready first."

"She was going to come down in her pajamas?" Harry laughed.

"Wouldn't be the first time, guess she's just worried if Si-"

"Don't even finish that sentence," Harry said shoving his hand onto the Slytherin's mouth once more. This action seemed to be the easiest way to get his boyfriend to shut up. "Any idea what we're eating?" Harry asked.

"The same as the school I guess," Sirius said in a forced calm tone. He was now smashing the daily prophet in his right hand.

"R, right, umm Sirius! I think it would be great if you could eh…you know teach us some defense magic later. You could be a special guest for our D.A. club!" Harry blurted out before he could think.

"What?" came three replies as Hermione had finished getting ready and was now standing beside them.

"Harry, that's a wonderful idea!" She said cheerfully. "He can explain what it was like fighting Voldemort and everything giving us details about Voldemort's first coming! It would be a great lesson," Hermione said nearly jumping up and down. "You'll do it won't you Sirius?"

"Of course I'll do it!" Sirius grinned. "I'd love to get in on this club; maybe Remus could come in too and show you guys some stuff too."

"That'd be great," Hermione said grinning back at the animagus. Soon enough those two were talking about what kind of things they should do for the meeting leaving both Harry and Tom completely out of it.

'I had to stop the fight before it started,' Harry explained to the heir who'd remained quiet since his 'what' outburst. 'I mean it; I don't want you guys fighting so much…I want both our families as you put it to get along.'

'That's easy for you to say, Dumbledore is normal,' Tom mentally hissed.

'And Sirius can be too, it's just…not as expected,' Harry admitted closing his eyes. He had not expected any of this stress to hit until the holiday's, but now that they would all be spending time with each other they were going to have to learn to get along. 'You managed to save Sirius' life, why can't you guys treat each other decently?'

'I saved him, because I knew you'd hate me if I didn't.'

'So why don't you just try being decent so I don't hate you for that?'

"You can't hate me for something like that!" Tom screamed getting everyone's attention directed at him.

"Calm down," Harry sighed. "I don't hate you nor will I, all I'm asking you is to try," Harry pleaded with him.

"I'm always trying," the heir said arrogantly.

"Then try harder," Harry said scowling.

"What's in it for me?" Tom asked.

"Me not choking you with food," Harry said holding up a piece of bacon threateningly since the food had appeared on the table near them. "Well?"

"You're a fool," Tom snickered taking the bacon out of Harry's hand with his mouth. He sat up at that point so he could finish chewing it and swallow safely. "But I suppose that's half the reason I love you."

"Don't even get me started," Harry warned taking a plate and placing two eggs onto it.

"Glad you two are getting along," Sirius said evenly.

"Did you see Draco before you came here Sirius?" Harry asked trying to keep everyone in the conversation.

"No, Remus did though, he's the one who brought Hermione back," Sirius, said. "Said he didn't look to good, but he was breathing."

"Which makes everything great," Tom said sounding annoyed.

"It makes him alive," Sirius snapped back. "It's more than what I can say for others that we've taken to St. Mungo's."

"He should be alright though. The doctors were running a bunch of tests and he stopped throwing up by midnight," Hermione offered. Her words didn't seem to help the mood much.

They finished their breakfast in silence since the conversation had taken on such a dark tone. Once they were finished, Sirius was forced to take Hermione to her first class while Tom and Harry went to Hagrid's, the animagus swearing he'd catch up with them in a bit.

"Dumbledore probably should have mentioned we don't have all of the same classes," Tom said trying to get a conversation started up again.

"Yeah probably," Harry sighed. "He probably didn't think Sirius was going to run back out here though and that Lupin could just watch us from the hut," the Gryffindor pointed out.

"Yeah, even Dumbledore doesn't think of everything," Tom said.

"I'm not mad," Harry, said staring at his boyfriend. "You don't have to make small talk. I just really wish you two would make an effort to behave."

"I'll try, but he has to control himself too, half the time he just jumps right in at me. Not that I don't enjoy it."

"Enjoy it?" Harry asked curiously. "What do you mean enjoy it?"

"I like it when I'm bickering with him. He's fun to harass," the heir admitted. "I think that's just how we get along I told you that in Hogsmeade. It's not so much that we hate each other just that we get along better when we're fighting."

"That makes no sense what so ever," Harry said shaking his head.

"Does it have to? Isn't it enough that we're not trying to kill each other?"

"…I guess so…"

"Then get over it, it's freezing," the heir hissed pulling Harry closer to him. Despite their cloaks and scarves it was still pretty cold, so Harry didn't object at all to snuggling with his boyfriend.

They waited with the other two students wondering why Hagrid was making them have a class outside this time; their last class had taken place inside of his house where it was nice and warm.

"Did he mention anything about what we might be doing?" Harry asked the other two students hopefully. If it had anything to do with a dragon or some other fire breathing animal he was sure he would suddenly be for it, less it was the chimera.

"He's probably still in bed under the covers," Tom growled. "Why venture out into the cold when you have a perfectly comfortable bed inside?"

"Comfortable? Have you seen his bed?" Harry asked trying to hold back his laughter. "It looks like it was made out of rocks."

"Cotton actually," Remus, yawned walking out of Hagrid's house. "Morning Harry, Aderes," he said smiling at the two of them. "Hagrid will be out shortly, are you ready for our expedition?"

"Expedition?" Harry echoed the words sounding that much more dangerous when he said them. "What kind of expedition?"

"Didn't Hagrid tell you? We're going into the Forbidden Forest and collecting Acromantula silk and Fairy hair," Remus laughed. "For Snape of course."

"Why does he need that kind of stuff?" Tom demanded. "He should be out here helping us!"

"And so I will be," Snape's cold voice came from behind them. "After all, I could not expect two Hufflepuffs and a Gryffindor to pick out decent potion ingredients," he said his mouth turning up into a cruel smile.

"I'm really glad Ron didn't take this class," Harry said with a sigh of relief. Had Ron been in it and there right now the red head would have no doubt already been panicking and trying to stab himself with his wand.

"Yeah…he does have a thing for spiders don't he?" Tom said pulling Harry closer to himself when a blast of wind came at them. "Hagrid needs to hurry up so we can get into the forest."

"Yeah…some of the trees could block the wind," Harry agreed.

"If you two do not remove yourself from one another-"

"Remus!" Sirius screamed running over to him. "I finally found my way back to the grounds," he laughed. "I got lost when the staircases started moving and well, it took me a few minutes to find my way back down, but I'm here now!" He threw his arms around Lupin giving him a tight hug.

"Do you find it necessary to do these things in front of the students?" Snape growled.

"If it gives us students an excuse to huddle together for warmth, than yes," Tom snapped back at the potion's master.

"Alright, alright. I'll go inform Hagird we're going into the entrance now so we won't be hit head on with so much wind," Lupin said calmly. He peeled Sirius off his arm and headed back into the hut.

"The things I have to put up with," Snape muttered walking into the forest.

"I think he's mad," Harry said watching Snape vanish into the woods.

"Let him be, I'm in no mood for him to be a prat," Tom said between shivers. "Its way too cold out here for me too really care about what he thinks."

Lupin returned a few moments later ushering the kids into the entrance of the woods. As the Slytherin had stated, the woods were a good deal warmer with the wind being almost completely blocked out of the forest due to all the trees. There wasn't even a lot of snow on the ground, only enough to cover the top of their shoes unlike the outside where it went to their knees in some parts.

"Have to admit, this is better," Sirius said coming up behind Harry. "Can't say that I care too much for what's in here though."

"Yeah…there's always things in this forest no one wants to deal with," Harry agreed the first thing coming to mind being Umbridge's corpse. With their luck, the woman was evil enough to rise up as a vampire of her own free will.

"Alright class, alright," Hagrid's voice came from the entrance. They all turned to regard him as came. "We're gonna collect some Acromantula silk and Fairy hair," he said nodding to the two sacks he had thrown over his shoulder. "Shouldn't be too hard, ready?"

"Yes," Harry said before anyone else could protest. If they all started protesting now they'd never get out of the forest. What Harry honestly wanted was to be back in the castle in the warm tub him and Tom would be sharing that night, but in order to get anywhere near that daydream they'd have to get through the forest first.

"I know there's a nest of Acromantula in here, but where in the world are we supposed to get the Fairy hair?" Tom asked Hagrid once they'd started walking.

"Well teh tell ya the truth I ain't so sure meself. Just know that Dumbledore told me that there were some here and teh find some hair."

"Okay…" Tom said.

'What can you do with these sorts of things?' Harry asked.

'It just depends…'

'Do you think it might be something for Draco?'

'No, St. Mungo's would have all this stuff there already if they need it,' his boyfriend assured him. 'I think this has to do with Snape.'

'Or us,' Harry said remembering his talk with Remus the night before. He instantly started telling the heir everything that'd been said in the conversation and what Lupin's plan was.

"I suppose that could work in theory," Tom said thinking aloud. "It's worth a try."

"What is?" Hagrid asked the two curiously.

"Asking if you'd let us raise something for the class," Harry said quickly.

"Like what?" Hagrid asked his eyes now beaming. He seemed to think that Harry and Tom had suddenly taken a huge interest in his teachings.

"Anything," Harry replied quickly.

"Hmm…maybe we can find a little fluffy running around. If not, I could go to a pub," Hagrid said proudly.

'You just had to say something,' Tom raged mentally.

(TBC)

Okay, despite everything enjoy. Thanksgiving, happy thanksgiving though I might just update that day to be nice anyway.


	25. The Forest's Spell

Happy thanksgiving everyone if you celebrate! So here's your chapter.

Warnings:It's shonen ai my kami if you don't know this by now, you're brain dead.

Notes: (X)is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 25: The Forest's Spell

"Hagrid, just what do you mean by little Fluffy?" Harry asked nervously. Somehow the tone Hagrid had used to say "little fluffy" unnerved him. "Wait…you don't mean a little three headed dog do you?"

" 'Course I do. Fluffy found 'imself a friend after we let him go. All grown up now," Hagrid sniffed.

'Are you _trying_to get us killed?' Tom mentally screamed looking horrified.

Harry couldn't quite blame him. The idea of trying to raise a three headed puppy was something he wasn't quite prepared for, especially when they already had issues with a chimera, which was _nothing_ compared to the "Lil Fluffy" Hagrid was threatening to give them.

"Something smaller," Harry said nervously hoping Hagrid wouldn't take offense. If he did things just right, maybe they could raise a kitten or possibly another owl. At this point he was willing to settle for anything that wouldn't eat them the first chance it got.

"We could raise Sirius," Tom offered getting glares from both Harry and his godfather.

"I have enough problems raising you," Harry countered remembering all the things he'd gone through, because of his slightly evil boyfriend. He couldn't even begin to think of what poor Dumbledore and McGonagall had, had to deal with when the Slytherin was younger and they'd first gotten him.

"Raising spirits doesn't count!" Tom shouted defensively.

"Well with all the trouble you've given me it should count for something!" Harry said scowling at him.

"Children," Lupin said a smile on his face. Given the forced look and strain in his voice Harry knew they needed to stop bickering. "Hagrid, they don't need anything to take care of right now, they can barely take care of themselves."

'See, Lupin had to save our arses thanks to you!'

Harry glared once more at his boyfriend, but remained silent. He knew he shouldn't have said anything to Hagrid in the first place, the 'caring for something' thing just happened to be the first thing that'd come out of his mouth.

'Fine, I made a mistake,' Harry said mentally while closing his eyes. He was in no mood for a huge fight between his boyfriend especially not with Sirius so close by.

'Why are you giving up so easily?'

'Because I told you hundreds of times, I'm sick of fighting.' He walked over to Lupin and began following him. He just needed some time to gather himself. He'd apologized already and admitted he was wrong, so _maybe that_would be enough to keep the heir from flipping out.

"So what are we going to do with these potion ingredients anyway?" Tom asked curiously.

"I don't believe that is any of your business," Snape said coldly. He didn't even bother to give Tom a single look and then Harry remembered that Tom had been threatening the potion's master. It would not doubt take some time before that was mended, even if Dumbledore had stepped in to make Tom stop.

"I thought you were over being a jerk," Tom snapped walking passed the potion's master.

"Eh Tom, yeh really don't need teh be runnin off now…" By the time the words had left Hagrid's mouth however Tom was already out of sight.

"Great," Harry muttered. He didn't want to believe that his boyfriend had just vanished into the Forbidden forest, but he was already gone leaving the Gryffindor with the group wanting to scream. He couldn't go chasing after him blindly without the others they would kill him before anything in the woods did. Of course he could use their bond to find him, but that still meant getting everyone else to follow without the students questioning it. "What if the centaurs find him?" Harry asked.

"Well, that was one 'o the reasons I didn't want him teh walk off," Hagrid said uneasily. "Ever since Umbridge and all…"

"That and the Divination teacher," Lupin reasoned with a frown. "We better go find him."

"Aderes will be fine," Snape said walking in a different direction from the Slytherin. "We need to find these things before their next class, less this is for nothing."

"Well…" Hagrid looked torn between going after the heir and doing the class assignment.

"Professor Snape, couldn't we split up? I could go with Hagrid and Sirius to find Aderes and the rest of you could look for ingredients," Harry reasoned hoping that he'd go for the idea. He felt like beating his boyfriend with a stick right now and allowing someone else to find the possessive idiot before he did was _not_something that settled well with him.

"I suppose so…Look for the ingredients while you're trying to find the worthless student." That said Snape began making his way down the path he'd chosen, Lupin and the other two students following him.

"Just let me kill him once we find him," Harry said the minute the others were out of hearing distance. "Just one unforgivable, I swear-"

"Harry, if I attacked Remus every time he made me angry he'd have died years ago," Sirius said as if this was supposed to make things better.

"Did Lupin randomly throw fits like a four year old?" Harry asked irritably.

"No, that would have been me," Sirius admitted his face red.

"Well, you're still alive, but Lupin has a lot more patients than I do," Harry said firmly. He wasn't trying to be mean, but Tom's walking off was completely uncalled for. He knew that Snape had to treat them like dirt when they were around other students or people would begin to question things. If Voldemort found out that Snape was friendly with Tom and Harry the professor would be dead before he could even realized what happened. Besides, did Tom really think the professor was going to be nice to him that easily? Harry could only guess what the threats were that Tom uttered, but with the amount of homework Snape had suddenly started giving, Harry was sure it wasn't nice.

"I'm sure he's just being stubborn," Sirius grinned. "Once we find him we can knock him out and force some sense into his head."

"Good luck, been trying to do that for the past year and a half," Harry said. He wished he didn't feel so annoyed at the moment, but he did. 'Where are you?' Harry demanded mentally. When he received no answer he narrowed his eyes and pulled out his wand. "I'll kill him."

"Now, now 'arry," Hagrid said smiling at him. "Yeh know he likes teh play games."

"Yeah, we can play hide and seek. The second I find him I'll take his skin off," the Gryffindor said happily.

"Harry," Sirius scolded grabbing his wand from him. "What's gotten into you?"

Harry glared at his godfather and felt the urge to hit him, but managed to stop himself. He didn't know why his emotions were getting so out of control. He shrugged removing the necklace from under his robes. It'd been awhile since he'd needed to use it for anything Tom was after all usually standing beside him or answering through their bond. Now was as good a time as any to see if it still worked though.

"Where are you Tom?" he asked the necklace glaring at it. He waited for the light, for any kind of sign that the necklace had some kind of connection still and growled shoving it back under his shirt when he got nothing.

"Hagrid, has anything weird happened here lately?" Harry asked once he'd gotten his temper in check.

"Weird?" Hagrid asked. "Well, nothin, but yer normal stuff, why?"

"Just wondering," he said quietly. He didn't want to believe he'd really wanted to hit Sirius just because he'd taken his wand. He didn't need to be holding his wand with the thoughts currently going through his mind right now anyway, but even so it still angered him. "I hope the others are okay."

"I'm sure Professor Snape and Lupin can take good care of 'em," Hagrid said cheerfully. He seemed to have already completely forgotten Harry's seemingly random outburst. Sirius on the other hand kept giving Harry odd looks, the Gryffindor's wand tucked away safely in his robes.

"Could he really have gone this far ahead of us without us knowing?" Harry asked some time later. The forest had opened up, nowhere near as thick as the entrance had been, but what really bothered Harry was the fact that there were no longer any footprints in the snow to follow either. "Hagrid, Sirius, I don't think Tom came this far," he said looking at them worriedly. "And he won't respond to me through our bond."

"Well, maybe it doesn't quite work in the woods?" Sirius suggested, but Harry could tell he was getting uneasy himself shifting slightly from foot to foot.

"There are no tracks here. Tom didn't come this way," he said starting to head back. "Where did his footprints end anyway?"

"I don't know, I was just tryin to follow you guys…might 'o been a bit ways back," Hagrid admitted sheepishly. They started their way back not finding any prints until they were almost near where they'd started.

"This isn't right…do you think he's playing a trick on us?" Harry asked. "Can he Apparate?" He asked suddenly. He'd never asked the heir how far he'd gotten with his sixth year or if he'd at least been through the training to learn.

"I don't think so," Hagrid said looking around. "I mean don't get me wrong, he could have, no wards on the woods…"

'Tom answer me now or I'll never let you sleep with me again,' Harry attempted. When he still got no answer he paled turning his backs on the two adults and started towards the castle. If Tom was missing than he had to tell Dumbledore. He'd know how to find him and what to do. "Wait I have another idea," he said after the other two had managed to catch up with him. "Just give me a second." He removed the necklace from around his neck again this time griping it firmly in his hand. He wasn't too sure if this would work either, but he'd summoned Tom's shadow form before using the necklace, perhaps he could summon his solid one as well.

"What are yeh doin Harry?" Hagrid asked sounding worried.

"Hopefully getting him back here," Harry growled closing his eyes. He did the same thing he'd done so many times before begging and wishing to be comforted, to force the shadow to return to him if even for a moment. To Harry's surprise instead of anything appearing in front of him the necklace began glowing and shot a beam of light in what seemed to be a completely random direction. "What's over there?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Grawp," Hagrid said his eyes widening. "Come on!"

All three of them started running as fast as they could, following the greenish light beam as their guide. The sight that met them was exactly what Harry feared: Grawp holding a large tree. The giant was swinging it at Tom, doing everything he could to try and smash him.

"See why you don't run off!" Harry screamed. Without thinking he ran towards his boyfriend shoving him out of the way when the Slytherin had decided to look at him instead of pay attention to his surroundings The tree smashed down hard into the frozen ground causing a good deal of the area to shake around them. "Get up!" He hissed getting to his feet, Tom doing the same so they nearly missed getting hit once more.

"Grawp stop it!" Hagrid screamed at him. He grabbed the tree trunk from the giant trying to hold it down while Sirius pulled out his wand and aimed for its head. "Don't!" Hagrid pleaded, but upon doing so forgot to hold onto the tree trunk, which Grawp happily took back up into the air letting out a loud scream and brought it down onto Sirius' shoulder.

"Sirius!" Harry shouted running towards his godfather only to be forced to dodge again. "What did you do to him?" He demanded from his boyfriend.

"Nothing! I ran into him while I was looking for the filth Snape is making us find and he started attacking me!"

"He doesn't know 'im!" Hagrid yelled while trying to get his half-brother under control.

"Pertrificus Totalus!" The spell shot passed them all hitting Grawp dead on. The giant grunted once before falling over, the tree trunk falling down harmlessly by his side. "Sirius!"

"Lupin," Harry sighed in relief grabbing Tom's hand and running over to his godfather. "Is he okay?"

"Fine," Sirius said only to wince.

"Liar, that broke skin, we need to get you to the infirmary," the werewolf said pulling Sirius up to his feet. "Snape took the other two students back, we got the ingredients, and what were you four doing?"

"Tom ran into Grawp and nearly got himself killed," Harry said glaring at his boyfriend. "Which, might I add he promised never to do again."

"Yeah right," The Slytherin said rolling his eyes. "I walk off all the time."

"Which is exactly why you're bleeding right?" Harry asked dropping Tom's hand and folding his arms across his chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about," The heir said defensively.

"I can see your leg, it's covered in blood." Harry snapped.

"My what?" Tom asked. He stared down at his leg then and looked completely shocked to see the blood flowing down from the side of it. "When did that happen?"

"Before I got here, I thought that was why you weren't moving when the tree trunk was coming at you," Harry sighed throwing his arms around his boyfriend's neck. He couldn't remain mad at the heir no matter how hard he tried, especially not with him hurt.

"I guess maybe…I hadn't realized," he said oddly still trying to look over Harry's shoulder while the Gryffindor hugged him.

"We need to get back to Hogwarts. Sirius and Aderse need to go to the infirmary," Lupin instructed them.

Tom nodded slowly and the five of them began heading back towards the castle. Sirius managed to get their just fine, but halfway back Hagrid ended up lifting Tom up against his will and carrying him the rest of the way.

"Leg gave out," Hagrid told the nurse when they'd entered the infirmary.

"I was doing just fine until that tree branch jumped out in front of me!" Tom screamed refusing to look anyone in the eyes. Harry could only shake his head, the full force of embarrassment and broken pride coming from Tom's mind was hard to deal with all at once.

"Not him again," the nurse muttered grabbing a small vial of something and popping the cork off while Tom was still screaming something about being able to walk, shoved it into his mouth forcing him to swallow. The heir suddenly went silent staring at Harry for only a second or two before his head fell back onto the pillow behind him out cold.

"I see this is a common problem," Harry said nervously trying hard not to laugh. Madam Pomfrey must have gotten sick of hearing Tom's rants over the summer and come up with a quick plan on how to silence him so her infirmary remained quiet for her other patients.

"Common isn't the word," she said sternly. "Now lie down next to him so I don't have to hear "my boyfriend's abandoned me for class" for three hours while his wound is mending," she ordered him just daring Harry to say no.

"Umm right," he said walking over to the bed Hagrid had dropped Tom onto. He wondered if he should really be missing class, but seeing the look on Madam Pomfrey's face, he decided it was completely worth it and removed his and Tom's shoes before lying down beside him. Tom wouldn't mind after all and they could get the notes from Hermione later.

"Good, and you," she said turning on Sirius. "Sit down; I have just the thing to heal that."

"Probably tastes horrible," Sirius muttered.

"And you'll still be drinking it regardless," Lupin said in an overly sweet tone. This seemed to scare Sirius who instantly stopped complaining and took his medicine with only a small grimace when swallowed. "See, it wasn't that hard."

"Nope, not at all," Sirius said happily, but looking like he was about to die.

"Would you like some water?" Lupin asked.

"Yes, please," Sirius replied hoarsely.

The werewolf patted Sirius on the unharmed shoulder and walked out.

"Going to die before he gets back?" Harry asked his godfather with a grin. The infirmary was empty besides the three of them and the nurse so he really had nothing else to do besides make conversation.

"No doubt," Sirius grinned at him. "That stuff is horrible."

"Try Skele-grow; I had to take that stuff a few years ago. One of the worst nights of my life," he snickered. It really had been a horrible night for him, but now reliving it while joking around with his godfather it didn't seem nearly as bad as it had been.

"It's some pretty nasty stuff huh? I broke my ankle once, had to get it regrown."

"Better than your entire arm," Harry said proudly. The two of them started laughing then until Lupin returned giving Sirius his water.

"I can't stay in here, I'll have to walk Hermione and Ron to their classes since Sirius is hurt. I expect you to make this up to me since I'll be getting little sleep," he told Sirius before waving bye to them and leaving the infirmary.

"He's very demanding," Harry, laughed.

"He can be, but he's completely worth it," Sirius agreed.

(X)

When three hours had gone by Harry was relieved to see that Tom's leg had completely healed, but was a bit worried that the Slytherin was still out cold. Seeing this as the perfect chance to get to Qudditch practice without having to lie through his teeth to his boyfriend he climbed out of the bed and headed off. He usually had to tell Tom he was merely doing something else and would be back in a few minutes, but now he'd be able to do it without problem. Tom had of course begun to figure out that every time Harry did this it was usually to start practice. It often seemed to work however, because by the time Tom finally located him on the field he was already up in the sky with his teammates.

Knowing what he would face no matter what he did, Harry decided he'd just sneak off while Madam Pomfrey was off giving one student something for a cold and the Slytherin was still sleeping peacefully in his bed. He did not stop tiptoeing in fact until he'd made it to the front doors of the school and managed to slip through them without being noticed once.

"Made it," he said happily letting out a sigh of relief.

"Which disappoints me Harry that you were about to run off somewhere," Lupin's voice said coming from nowhere.

"Lu, Lupin?" Harry asked looking at the werewolf. "I forgot you were patrolling the grounds at night."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I had Qudditch practice tonight," Harry explained. "The entire team should already be there, well I'm not sure if Ron is," he admitted. He hadn't seen his friend since this morning and had a feeling he'd already run back off to St. Mungos to stay with Draco.

"Why didn't you tell Sirius?"

"He was with Hermione and Tom's asleep in the infirmary. I just wanted to get out here so I wasn't late; I'm the team captain after all."

"That doesn't mean you get to walk around without supervision, there's a reason we're doing this," Lupin said shaking his head slowly.

"So watch the practice," Harry suggested. "It's only an hour."

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt," he smiled and soon enough they were both headed towards the Quidditch locker room.

"Was Snape able to think of a way to hide these marks from Sirius?" Harry asked right before they entered the locker room.

"What do you think we were collecting in the woods today?" Lupin asked with a small grin.

"Really?" Harry asked unable to hide his joy. "So when will it be done?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'll send Sirius off for something and slip into the common room to give it to you guys."

"You're a life saver," Harry said hugging him tightly. "Thanks."

"No problem," Lupin said returning the hug. "Just promise me you'll stop doing such stupid things Harry. Lately you've really been worrying us. And I heard you had some kind of an outburst in the woods?"

"Yeah," Harry admitted looking up at what might as well had been his second godfather. "I don't know what came over me. I was fine and then I just wanted to knock Sirius on the ground…I guess I was just worried about Tom."

"I asked Hagrid to check out the forest, I'll be doing the same…You and Tom weren't the only two acting odd in those woods. Severus didn't even seem to realize what he'd said to Tom until after we'd walked off, and the other two students started acting up as well."

"So you think there really is something going on with the forest?" Harry asked. He hoped they'd find out soon, because he had no intentions of getting near the Forbidden forest again until they figured out what was going on.

"I believe there's a small chance…and if that's the case, we'll have to be careful Harry. It is not wise to come across the things that dwell in that forest while they are angered."

"Believe me, I know," Harry said grimly before pushing the door open and walking into the locker room. There were a few cheers when the other Gryffindor's saw Lupin, some who ever came over and gave him a pat on the back, glad to see him back at Hogwarts. "He's going to watch us play," Harry, grinned. "So we better play good out there."

"Lupin's watching?" Ron asked looking slightly sick.

"Ron! I thought you'd be with Draco," Harry said surprised, but glad that his friend was there. "Are you okay with this?"

"Yeah, I have to be good. Draco told me to come…he'll be back tomorrow, in the infirmary, but he'll be back at Hogwarts."

"Why is he coming back if he has to stay at the infirmary?" Harry asked curiously. He'd expected Draco to have to stay at St. Mungo's for some time given the extent the damage seemed to be and yet here they were telling him he'd be returning to Hogwarts soon, something he was very happy to hear.

"Because his father found out he was at St. Mungos and he's trying to get to him," Ron said darkly. "I ran into death eaters there twice already since last night. Sirius got into a big fight with them…I just hope he'll be okay."

"Dumbledore said he'd be fine," Harry said trying to cheer him up. "His insides should be healing and he'll be back in your bed before you know it!"

"Yeah…he's just acting odd. He isn't talking much, I don't know if he's scared or what," Ron sighed. "These attacks are going to stop right? I mean they can't keep at it all year…can they?"

"No that's why Sirius and I are here," Lupin said jumping into their conversation. "With us around and your mother making your meals, there should be no way anyone can harm any of you."

"See Ron, we're fine," Harry said cheerfully. He was actually a bit scared himself, but he didn't want Ron to know that. If he wasn't properly prepared to handle the things that could possible come at them how could he expect his best friend to be? Despite that, he didn't want to take away his friend's security. There was no reason to keep him in a complete panic the whole school year.

"Yeah, you're right," Ron agreed smiling at them.

"Great," Harry grinned. "Let's go practice then." He was glad that Ron was starting to calm down, especially since if Ron wasn't in a good state of mind, he'd be letting the quaffle go through the goal left and right.

Practice went as expected, the entire team besides Ron doing wonderfully, Ron only doing mediocre maneuvers when he was lucky. Harry knew that Ron's performance was based on his emotions, which considering Draco's current state wasn't that great. While it bugged Harry slightly, he couldn't help wondering if he'd possibly do any better if Tom was ever hurt badly. Granted, he doubted he could get himself to move from his boyfriend's side if he was ever badly hurt.

"Great job everyone!" Harry shouted to the team. Everyone began getting dressed and talking amongst themselves when Lupin walked in grinning.

"Hey everyone, great job! I can't wait to see the match tomorrow. You guys are…Ron are you okay?" Lupin asked worriedly.

"He's always like this before a game," Harry sighed. "He'll get over it, he just needs some rest and hopefully for Draco to show back up and…a few other things," Harry muttered.

"Well excuse me for sucking!" Ron said defensively. "I'll quit after tomorrow, okay?"

"Ron, you know that's not what I meant!" Harry snapped at him. "I just want you to try your best tomorrow; don't worry about anything else okay?"

"Don't fight you two," Lupin said tiredly. "I'm sure you'll do-"

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME ALONE IN THE INFIRMARY?"

Harry winced hearing the voice behind him. He knew who it was; there was no one else on the planet for it to be. He wished he could just take off running and not have to turn around, but Tom had already made it across the room and grabbed Harry's shoulder by this point. "Harry…." He growled dangerously.

"I had practice!" He said turning to face him. "I have a game this weekend, I had to do it!"

"So you do love Quidditch more than me!" Tom yelled.

"I never said that!" Harry screamed. "Don't put words into my mouth!" Harry couldn't believe that the heir was bringing up this stupid grudge again, but here it was. He realized he was going to be forced soon enough to confront Tom head on once again and make him get over his hatred of Quidditch or things might somehow end up getting worse between them.

"CHILDREN!" Lupin raged the entire locker room going silent. He waited a few seconds to make sure no one said anything else and then started talking. "Everyone, go back into the school. This has nothing to do with you," he ordered them before gathering Ron, Harry, and Tom into a small group. "And you three…." He began shaking his head and opened the locker room door. "Come on."

An awkward silence hung between them the entire walk back to the castle. Harry felt extremely foolish and immature for the fighting, but he'd just had about enough of it. It seemed all of his friends were just going mad lately, possibly including himself.

"You take them," Lupin hissed when Sirius met them at the front entrance. The three of them were shoved into the school before the door was slammed shut leaving them all standing there shuddering. Lupin was very scary when he was mad.

"Hey Sirius," Harry said nervously. He wasn't sure if he wanted to explain to his godfather how he'd not only skipped out on his protection to go downstairs and then to Quidditch practice, but also pissed Remus off too.

"What'd you do?" Sirius asked horrified.

"Umm…Quidditch practice," Harry, laughed, but the look on Sirius' face, told him he wasn't about to get out of this so easily. "Or possibly something else…."

"Harry," Sirius warned. He narrowed his eyes at them looking like a skinny uncle Vernon ready to dish out some kind of punishment.

"Alright…We got into a fight in the locker room. Tom came barging in screaming, because I left him alone in the infirmary and Ron was freaking out, because his flying skills aren't the best, but I really think that we have a chance. I just want to play Quidditch without being screamed at….but I don't see that happening anytime soon."

"Yeah, we always fought during Quidditch too," Sirius, laughed. "No big deal," he said heading down the hall.

Harry could only stare at his godfather given his sudden reaction. He'd obviously not liked seeing Lupin mad, but at the same time, he seemed to understand what they were all going through.

"Glad you do," Harry whispered so the others couldn't hear. He of course didn't understand at all what was going on, but as long as Sirius seemed to than it couldn't be that bad. Sirius tended to panic after all when things were really bad and Harry was concerned. He let out a sigh anyway and looked at his boyfriend who looked slightly pale and shrugged.

'I think we should hold off on fighting around them,' Harry said taking his boyfriend's hand. Yes, he was mad at Tom, but he was scared of their guardians at the moment.

'Probably a good idea,' Tom agreed. 'Of course we always have this bond to fight in,' he suggested.

'I don't think fighting is that important,' Harry snickered.

'No, but I enjoy making up,' Tom said. When Sirius had turned a corner he pushed the Gryffindor against the wall stealing a kiss from him quickly. He pulled away just as fast and the two went to catch up as fast as possible so they wouldn't get in even more trouble.

(TBC)

Everyone have a great holiday!


	26. A Partial Solution

So it's time for another Harry Potter chapter is it? I suppose it is or I wouldn't be typing this up now would I? Yep it is…and for once on a day I have nothing else to do….yeah right okay. I have a room to clean, but I'm completely ignoring it lol. It's almost finished being done. Hopefully you guys will enjoy the chapter though, so here's to the first chapter of Dec.

Warnings: It's shonen ai, get over it. It's not changing.

Notes:(X)is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 26: A Partial Solution

"The others still sleeping?"

"Of course they are. No one told them you'd be coming tonight. I didn't think they needed to be up at this hour," Tom smirked. It was currently one in the morning, and the two Slytherins sat alert in the infirmary. Draco had just been dropped off by Lupin a few moments before hand and thus they were having their private reunion. "I'm glad to see you back."

"It's a pleasure to be back, but keep your traps to yourself next time," Draco said calmly, but Tom understood the meaning behind those words. He didn't blame his friend for being annoyed with him, but at the least it had all turned out okay. Draco was safely back at Hogwarts, for the most part unharmed, and Tom was still alive; at least for now.

"Don't worry, Dumbledore went out of his way to make our lives five times harder than they need to be," Tom said, rolling his eyes. He still couldn't believe the old man had actually assigned Lupin and Sirius to watch their every move. He knew well enough that this was a punishment in itself, not just a means of protection. After all, Harry wouldn't do anything to break the rules with his godfather around, which meant Tom would have to follow each rule himself. "It's pretty annoying…you going to be able to come to the D.A. meeting tonight?"

"I'm not supposed to leave the infirmary until Sunday," Draco sighed. "Until then, I'm to remain here at all times."

"Did you enjoy your mother's visit?"

"…Yes," Draco said after a small pause. "We had a very long talk. She left father."

"Really?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow. He was now very curious about the subject. "I never thought she'd have the courage to go that far."

"She's been staying at Snape's house," the blond Slyhterin said quietly.

"What?" The heir asked in shock. "Our Snape? Grease mop Snape?"

"Yes," Draco said, twitching slightly. ""Grease mop," as you put it, helped convince her that my father was worthless and to come stay with him. Her family is outraged, but I don't think it really matters anymore," he added, lying back in the bed. "He can't touch her right now."

"Good…I never imagined your mom was so blind…"

"Shut up!" Draco snapped.

"Come on! For anyone to think Snape is worth dating..." Tom laughed, leaving the rest to hang in the air. It wasn't like Draco didn't know what he meant. "Don't worry, I'm sure Ron will come visit you soon enough and the image of Snape kissing your mother will be erased from your mind."

"ADERES!" Draco screamed.

"What?" said boy asked innocently. He stuck his tongue out at his fellow Slytherin and headed for the doors, waving at him. "Don't yell too loudly; that Nazi nurse will be here in five seconds flat if she thinks you're hurting."

(X)

Harry let out a long sigh, sitting up in his bed. It was still dark out, and nowhere near the time of his actually needing to get up. However, he hadn't been able to fall back asleep in the past few hours. Instead, he'd been reduced to staring at his ceiling, wondering what was bothering him so badly. Tom was comfortably curled up beside him fast asleep, and Ron, though not in the best of moods, was snoring loudly, showing no signs of waking up before noon.

The entire boy's dorm was silent, and yet Harry couldn't even manage to get himself to feel drowsy. Deciding he was getting nowhere, he finally climbed out of bed and went down into the common room. The fire had long gone out, but the room itself was still quite warm. It'd been awhile since he'd gone into the common room this late at night; now a days, he was usually too tired to sneak around Hogwarts at all.

"All thanks to the wonderful heir of Slytherin," he snickered to himself, taking a seat near the fireplace. His gaze fell onto the window outside where he could see Hagrid's hut. He was sure Hagrid, Sirius, and Lupin were all down there sleeping peacefully, just like he wished he was. Letting out a sigh, he leaned back, trying to decide what he should do. He didn't know of any sleeping spells he could just whip out, and both Hermione and Tom were sleeping, so they couldn't help him at all with his problem. "Usually he wakes up a few minutes after I do," Harry muttered.

"I'm what?" Tom yawned right on cue. He walked over to where Harry was sitting from the common room entrance and collapsed onto the chair into Harry's lap looking more tired than ever.

"Where were you?" Harry asked, looking between the stairs leading to the dorms and back to his boyfriend. "You were curled up in bed with me!"

"No, my _solid_ form was curled up in bed with you," Tom said, stretching. He settled his head down on Harry's lap and closed his eyes. "Once I walked back in here, though, they combined again; if my solid form and shadow form are too close together, they reunite almost immediately. I can't control it anymore."

"Whatever," Harry sighed, knowing that he wasn't about to get an answer out of the heir. "You better not have been doing anything illegal."

"I wasn't," Tom assured him. "So, what are you doing out here anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep, what else?" he snickered, leaning down to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. "I was worried you'd given up on me, but it seems you just weren't in the room"

"Couldn't dream of doing that; it took me long enough to get this far," he said, his hand going up to Harry's arm where the mark was. Harry felt a blast of warmth as he had many times before through the necklace and began relaxing. "Better?"

"Much," Harry smiled now somewhat drowsy. "Why didn't you do that sooner?" he asked.

"I was too tired," Tom admitted with a small laugh. "It takes a good deal of energy to do that, you know."

"Guess I never thought about it," Harry said. He still wished his boyfriend could have done that sooner so he wouldn't have spent half the night staring up at the ceiling. "So…are you getting used to Sirius and Lupin being around all the time?" The Gryffindor asked, closing his eyes.

"No," Tom said flatly. "I feel like we let the in-laws have the room right next to ours, and they have their ears to the wall." he scowled.

"I'm not too thrilled about it either," Harry said honestly. "I thought it'd be great; Sirius and I making up for lost time, spending days and eating meals together like a real family, but…"

"They're annoying," Tom said bluntly.

"That's one way to put it," Harry snickered. He couldn't help feeling a bit guilty wanting Sirius and Lupin to leave, but the truth was he wanted his alone time with the heir and his friends. Just before bed, Tom and him were about to make out, a way for the two to make up, but ended up stopping short. Every time Tom went to kiss Harry, Sirius would scowl or Lupin would begin asking Harry questions about the next day's D.A. meeting. "Think the club meeting will work out tonight?" Harry asked tiredly. His new found exhaustion had nothing to do with the time; rather the stress that came from thinking about that night's get together.

"If we're lucky, death eaters will attack again and kidnap them."

"Tom," Harry scolded, playfully hitting his arm. "I'm going to tie a bow on your head and send you to Voldemort."

"You'd just come get me. After two days of no bickering or us snogging, you'd be a complete wreck," his boyfriend pointed out arrogantly.

Harry wished he could deny his boyfriend's claims, but he and everyone else at Hogwarts knew it was the truth. Harry was, for the most part, completely dependent on Tom. Who needed drugs or alcohol when you had one of the best boyfriends in the world?

"Just consider yourself lucky that I can't."

"Mhmmm…" The heir was barely paying attention anymore, though, his gaze focused on the pendant that was around Harry's neck. He picked it up gently and stroked the dark side where the answers would appear when asked a question. "Never really got a good look at this thing," he said quietly. "I was running, just needed a place to escape to, somewhere Voldemort couldn't find me. There were other necklaces in Dumbledore's office," he said, turning the pendant over. "One had a snake…I could never remember the other one; I just grabbed it."

"I'm glad you did. Without you, I don't know where I'd be."

"Draco said the same thing," he said, letting go of the necklace and kissing Harry on the neck. "He was the first person to see my solid form. He was only helping me at first, because I promised him a higher rank than his dad… "

"What have you done with my boyfriend?" Harry asked, laughing. "You never talk this much about these things."

"I'm preparing you for our next meeting with Dumbledore," the Slytherin said.

"Oh…thanks," Harry said somewhat uneasily. He was glad that the heir was finally telling him things, but if Tom thought he needed to be prepared, than the next session was no doubt going to somehow be even more stressful than the last ones. "Asleep?" he asked no one in particular, as he already knew the answer. Tom's breathing had evened out, and his head rested on Harry's shoulder. "It's only your past," he said soothingly. "I'm here to protect you for the future," he promised the heir, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "Just help me keep everyone else safe."

(X)

Harry hadn't realized it when he drifted off, but when he opened his eyes again, the sun had risen, Tom was now lying shirtless on top of him, and Sirius was in one of the chairs across from them glaring daggers at the couple.

"Morning, Sirius," he yawned. With considerable ease born from how often Harry awoke in this position, he managed to sit up without waking the heir, drop the shirt over him, and freeze. With a sickening flip of his stomach, he realized that Tom's mark was facing Sirius, and that there was no way his godfather could have possibly missed it.

"I already saw it," Sirius said in a deathly calm tone as if reading Harry's mind. "Does Dumbledore know?"

"Ye, yes…" Harry said nervously hoping his boyfriend had indeed told Dumbledore, his grip around Tom tightening. He'd never felt such a dangerous and cold aura come off his godfather. He was sure if he moved even half an inch closer, he'd be enveloped in it with no chance of escape.

"Where's yours?" he asked in the same tone his gaze never wavering.

"Same place…" Harry said in a defeated tone. "I was going to tell you…"

"When?"

"After we were older," Harry replied honestly. His plan had been to hide it until a year or so after graduating, than he'd deliver the good news on some random get together.

"So, why didn't you just wait to do it?" Sirius demanded. "You've ruined almost any chance of getting yourself someone els-"

"I don't _want_ anyone else," Harry said firmly. "I love him; you can't make me feel any differently."

"I already know that! Christmas last year was proof enough," Sirius growled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Then why are you trying so hard to break us up?" Harry demanded, a flash of anger going through him. He knew Sirius was against their relationship, but even so Sirius was going to have to learn to live with it. He'd never once mentioned anything about him and Lupin dating, had actually been ecstatic when he'd found out; he just wished he knew why Sirius couldn't feel the same way for them.

"I'm not trying to break you up!" Sirius said finally, his face completely flushed. "I just hate the idea of you with anyone; I can't stand it!" he said, looking away. "You should be focusing on your grades and Quidditch…"

"Even though you were dating Lupin when you were my age," Harry said, glaring at the older man. One way or another, he was going to make this work.

"Let me see yours," Sirius said after a small silence.

"What?"

"Let me see the mark," he repeated more firmly.

"Umm…okay." Not sure if this was the safest of moves he slipped his shirt off carefully so as not to wake up his boyfriend. Once removed, Sirius grabbed his marked arm tightly, examining the details of it.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Tom asked, smirking widely. Somewhere during the conversation, he'd woken up and was now wearing a smug look that just dared Sirius to try something.

"If you like serpents tattooed on your arm," Sirius snapped.

"I happen to, yes," Tom said, stretching languidly. "But I have a stag, which is just as good," he said throwing his arms around Harry. "Did you finally get some sleep last night, love, or did the dog keep you awake?"

"No I got some sleep," Harry said, sighing. "And don't call my godfather a dog," he warned.

"Why not? He more or less is-"

"No, just because he can transform into one, doesn't mean calling him one is alright," Harry said. "So don't."

"You're no fun," the heir sighed, but he stopped making comments. "So, did Lupin get back to you last night?"

"Yes," Sirius said, taking his seat by the fire once again a pout on his face.

"My gods, how old are you really?" Tom asked, getting off of Harry and heading for the dorm staircase. "Acting like a five year old," he muttered.

"Why you-"

"Sirius please!" Harry begged, grabbing his godfather's arm before he could go after his boyfriend. "This isn't going to get any easier. Tom and I aren't separating…I have no idea why you're so against us…my grades have improved greatly since I started dating him, so you can't use that as an excuse. I've had more time to just be myself, and excluding the death eater incident, I've been able to stay out of a lot of trouble, thanks to him."

"I know that," Sirius replied quietly.

"Then why? Why are you so against our relationship?" he asked him again. It made no sense to him anymore as to why his godfather was being so stubborn about this. Didn't his godfather want him to be happy? Didn't he deserve some sort of happiness after everything else that had gone wrong with his life?

"Ignore him, Harry; he's just jealous," Lupin said as he walked into the room. "He'll get over it once he realizes you still love him as much as you always have."

"…You're joking right?" Harry asked the werewolf. He wasn't sure if he should hit himself or his godfather. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"REMUS!"

"I'm going to go get dressed. When I get back down here, please have obtained the maturity level of a fifteen year old at least," Harry said emotionlessly before heading to the stairs. He didn't even bother looking back; he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. If what Lupin was saying was true, he honestly felt like screaming. How could Sirius possibly think that he loved Tom more than him!? He loved the both of them equally.

"You look rather annoyed," Tom said, staring at him.

"Huh?" Harry blinked. He'd just noticed that, given his current position in front of an opened door and a rather shocked looking Tom, he must have slammed into his boyfriend. "Sorry."

"What's wrong? That fool didn't do anything to you did he?" Tom demanded.

"Of course not, he's down there whining. Lupin said he was jealous, that he thinks I love you more than him-"

"Which you do, of course," the Slytherin said slyly.

"You know I love you both equally. I can't choose who's more important, but Sirius has Lupin to protect and to protect him while I have you…why can't he understand that?"

"Oh, I think he does; he just doesn't want to right now," Tom offered, following after Harry. "I think he's just acting like an over-protective father."

"I'm not used to anything like that. Sure, Ron's mom would fuss over me from time to time, but beyond that, I was on my own," he scowled going over to his trunk. "He doesn't need to get jealous."

"Well, I guess we need to just sit down and tell him that, huh?"

Harry stopped at hearing those words and turned to regard his boyfriend. Not once could he ever remember his boyfriend suggesting a nonviolent, constructive way of doing something.

"You're finally beginning to understand me," Harry said happily, hugging him. "Thank you."

"Umm…right," Tom said nervously. "You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?"

"Three hours," Harry laughed, releasing his boyfriend. "I'll be down in a minute…Hey where's Ron?" Harry asked right before Tom was about to leave. "I just realized he wasn't here…"

"Probably in the infirmary. Draco arrived last night," the heir smirked, walking out.

Harry stared at where his boyfriend had been seconds before his fist clenching. Tom had been out that night visiting Draco in the infirmary and had, had the nerve not to tell him, Ron, or Hermione that their friend had returned.

"Why do I put up with this?" he sighed, letting go of his anger. Lashing out at the heir wouldn't bring about anything good, especially not with Sirius around, who was looking for any and all excuses to try and separate them. Forcing himself to let go of all anger he grabbed some clean clothes and changed into them. "This is going to be a long day…"

"Don't give me that, you had Lupin marked when he was fourteen!"

"Who told you that?" Sirius demanded.

"I could go eat breakfast with Dumbledore," Harry muttered as he walked down the steps. If he didn't think that Sirius and Tom would kill each other while he was gone he probably would have; that and he didn't think it was fair to leave Lupin alone with the two bickering.

"I told him," Lupin said, getting between them. "He asked me about the markings; Sirius it's not that big of a deal."

"Not a big deal? He stole my godchild from me!"

Ignoring the three of them, Harry grabbed a bowl of cereal that had appeared on the table near one of the couches a spoon, and walked over to a seat near the window overlooking the field. It was snowing outside, and soon he felt at ease watching the flakes drift to the ground; somehow, they managed to block out the fight going on a few feet away from him.

"I don't blame you," Lupin sighed, taking a seat across from Harry, a plate of almost raw sausage links in his plate. "I'm just going to let them have their fight; I already took their wands," he added when Harry looked at him in horror.

"I just can't get myself to understand why he's being so childish about all of this."

"It's not worth trying to understand, Harry. There are just some things about Sirius that never matured."

"Is it true that he marked you when you were fourteen?" Harry asked suddenly. It didn't occur to him until the words had left his mouth that this was a rather personal question.

"Yes," Lupin said, smiling at him. "And I think half the reason he's so worried about you two being marked is that we got into a lot of fights; we almost didn't make it. There were times that I thought I'd never forgive him again, but here we are."

"What about Azkaban?" Harry asked, looking at his cereal. "When everyone thought he'd killed my parents?"

"I had faith that he hadn't…Dumbledore told me not to try and prove his innocence outwardly, though…"

"But you did try to find proof that he was innocent, right?"

"Of course," Lupin said quickly. "What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I hadn't? I searched everywhere, but Voldemort made it look just like he wanted it to…"

"Yeah…Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. I just feel I'm in for a lot more trouble with Tom than you had with Sirius…"

"Oh believe me, Harry, they're two of a kind," Lupin agreed, eating some of his breakfast. "Gods know that…I think in that aspect though, you two are a perfect match. That's why it didn't surprise me too much that you'd gone and marked each other…not to mention the detail work on it."

"The detail work?" Harry asked, curiously finally looking Lupin in the eyes again. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"The more detail in the marking, the stronger the love is between the couple," Tom muttered, sitting down besides the Gryffindor. He shoved the bagel into his mouth death glaring Sirius who was now across from him with a pancake.

"Your tattoo must be a stick figure," Sirius spat.

"You two," Lupin groaned. "You're going to make Harry and I go bald, now shut up."

"Bald?" Tom asked, nearly choking on his breakfast. "Harry bald? That doesn't run in your family does it?"

"No," Harry said, now extremely annoyed. "It does in yours, though."

"I have no intentions of fusing my body with a snake," Tom said defensively, but Harry could tell he understood the warning.

"Listen, you two need to stop fighting. Harry loves both of you the same, right Harry?"

"Yes," Harry said instantly. "And if either of you think otherwise, I'll be shaving you _both_ bald to prove my point."

"Leave my hair out of this!" Tom said in horror. "I need this."

"Just have to make sure you can get me jealous with the rest of the school, don't you?" Tom muttered something Harry couldn't hear and started nibbling at his bagel silently. "I'm serious you guys. If you can't stop fighting, I'm going to ask Dumbledore to have Tonks guard me."

"I like Tonks," Lupin said in approval.

"And I'll be sticking around with Ron instead of you," he said glaring at Tom.

"I haven't done anything!" Tom protested. "I helped you sleep last night!"

"Just so you could wake up and drive me nuts. I'm begging you two, please stop."

"…Fine," Sirius said, holding his hand out. "I promise to be good and not to break you up….but you can't expect me to get along with this thing," he added, flames shooting up in his eyes when he looked at Tom.

"Thing?" Tom demanded. "See, he's insulting me and you're telling me not to do anything?"

"Be the bigger person," Harry grinned at his boyfriend kissing him on the neck.

"He's not more mature than I am!" Sirius screamed.

"He is at the moment," Lupin said. "Eat your breakfast."

(X)

"Is everyone here?" Harry asked, looking around the room. It looked to him like all the usual members were currently in the room of requirements. Satisfied, he held his hand up in the air so everyone would become silent before he started talking. "Alright, everyone, I think you're going to enjoy this meeting," he said, heading to the back room. He opened the door and nodded to his godfather and Lupin to come out. "We have two top notch dark art fighters, both of them I'm sure you know…One of them is our old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Lupin," he said pointing to the werewolf. The entire room went up in cheers, which Lupin blushed looking away from. "And this is my godfather…Sirius Black." The room instantly went silent, a few people even backing away.

"I was proven innocent you know," Sirius said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "I was James Potter's best friend and I wouldn't be here guarding Hogwarts if my name hadn't been cleared."

"It's true everyone, he's been cleared," Lupin said, smiling at them.

"Sad, but true," Tom agreed, walking into the room Draco beside him.

"I thought he wasn't supposed to leave until Sunday," Hermione said, glaring at them. "Why is he here?"

"Well, the nurse thinks he's still there," Tom said happily. "It's just until the class is over. It's not like he's in critical condition."

"You two," Hermione growled.

"Alright anyway," Harry said, quickly hoping to defuse any fights before they started. "Lupin and Sirius are here to talk about two things. Lupin about werewolves, their bites, and the problems it causes, while Sirius talks about turning into animals, since he's an animagus. Are there any questions?"

"We won't be tested on this, right?" a fourth year student asked.

"You might be," Harry admitted. "There's no telling what Snape is going to throw at you during your O.W.L.S next year." This didn't seem to be the answer the boy wanted to hear, but Harry didn't want to lie to him. The truth was he was a bit concerned, himself, at what he might possibly run into when he took his N.E.W.T.S. "Okay then, everyone, let's sit down and learn. Sirius, Lupin, you both get an hour; if you don't need that much time, then we'll do some extra practice."

"Sounds good to me," Sirius grinned. "Which one of us is going first?"

"I don't think it really matters," Harry said honestly. "Both of these subjects are important. A lot of people are being bitten, because of the werewolves joining Voldemort's side, while a lot of students probably want to attempt to become animagus, so…whoever wants to go first." Honestly, Harry wanted to listen to both topics himself, but since his dad had also been an animagus, he was particularly interested in learning that. He kept hoping that the ability to transform into an animal could possibly be passed down by blood, and hoped he would be able to do it himself someday.

"Well…I really don't know where to start," Lupin said, as Sirius had decided to let him go first. "Being a werewolf is horrible…you need potions to remain sane during the full moon, and you need to be in constant control of your emotions. Some of the slightest things can set you off if you're not careful, and you must always separate yourself from your loved ones during full moons usually," he added when he saw Sirius looking at him questioningly. "You often feel sick when the full moon is nearing, almost like all of your energy is being drained from your body."

'Seems like this is a really hard subject for him,' Tom said mentally to Harry.

'Yeah, but he agreed to do it…and everyone really needs to know…'

'Wonder if we can get a vampire for the next lesson,' Tom snickered.

'Tom,' Harry scolded. Even though getting a vampire to come in didn't seem like that bad of an idea, he doubted they'd be able to find one, let alone get one to agree to come into a class that's sole purpose was to defeat dark creatures such as them.

"And you often prefer raw meat after that," Lupin said, frowning. "Cooked meat just loses all its taste, it can even make you feel ill….now, I've run into a few people who think being bitten is a great thing; they want the power that comes with being a werewolf, but I'll tell you all right now, that's foolish thinking. You do not gain extraordinary strength while you're in human form, nor do any of your senses work better; in fact, it wouldn't surprise me if they're _worse_ than before. Once you do transform, you get all of these things, but only during the transformation, and that doesn't last long. For such a short time of great strength and to be weakened for the rest of the month, it seems stupid, but then there are those who just don't understand…"

"You did say they were fools," Sirius pointed out, getting a few laughs from the crowd. "And not everything is bad about that wolf form of yours…"

"Sirius!" Lupin screamed, his face going completely red. "This is a classroom!"

"Yeah and half of 'em are-"

"I'm sorry, he's an idiot," Lupin sighed, his hand clamped over Sirius' mouth. "Don't listen to a word he says beyond what he's here to teach you about being an animagus," he warned them, removing his hand. "And you better not do anything stupid," he warned him before turning back to the crowd of students. "Are there any questions?" A girl in the back row raised her hand. "Yes?"

"My uncle got bitten by a werewolf a few months ago, he's just the same as he's always been, but he's really tired most of the time."

"Yes, that's a very common side effect," Lupin said, smiling sadly. "He'll probably never get over that." Another student raised their hand, a fifth year Hufflepuff.

"I heard there were potions or spells that would allow a werewolf to transform, even if it wasn't a full moon."

"Well," Lupin said, folding his arms across his chest. "There are some rumors going around that certain werewolves are trying to find ways to do this, but so far, they haven't been able to achieve these results. The most they've managed is to get annoyed and go into a killing frenzy, but I assure you for some werewolves that's normal, even if they are in human form."

"So not all werewolves are good?" Another student asked.

"No, like any creature there is always the good and the bad. Sadly the bad often get more publicity than the good and as such even the good are looked down on; not to say that the good are not dangerous. Even I have had trouble controlling myself during a full moon."

Whispers rose up around the room, the students talking amongst themselves quietly.

"That was really good Lupin," Harry whispered to him. He was glad that the kids in the D.A. club could get firsthand experience like this, especially since it left him another week to figure out what new spells to teach them for their next meeting.

"Thanks, Harry," Lupin replied, smiling at him. "It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"Well, then you're finally getting used to it," Sirius said happily. "Now it's my turn!"

'And where we hope nothing gets destroyed,' Tom said, watching the animagus.

'Tom,' Harry warned.

(TBC)

Okay there. Another chapter finished. I wanted this to be posted on Christmas or Christmas eve, but since that didn't happen, I'd like to say Merry late Christmas everyone or whatever you celebrate and Happy new year! (Which I'm pretty sure everyone celebrates). I hope with the New Year brings good luck to you all! So….let's start onto chapter 27...


	27. A small glimpse into the past

Enjoy the chapter

Warning: It's shonen ai, get over it. Harry is sleeping with Tom and Draco with Ron while Sirius jumps Lupin.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 27: A small glimpse into the past

"Yes?" Sirius asked.

"If becoming an Animagus is so hard, how did you manage it?"

"Wh, what?" Sirius asked twitching.

Harry snickered watching the confrontation between his godfather and the students. Sirius had successfully explained that becoming an animagus was hard work and was considered a very high level of transfiguration. He even went as far as to show the class what it looked like when he transformed, but none of them seemed to be taking the man seriously. Instead, they kept asking him questions like this, which poked at his pride and in the end made him look like an idiot.

"I said-"

"I'm very good at Transfiguration," Sirius growled. "I just proved that by being able to transform. Is anyone else capable of turning into an animal? Anyone's parents or relatives?" he demanded. When he got no answer from the rest of the class, he smirked at them. "I didn't think so."

"So umm great," Harry said jumping in before things could get worse. "Any pointers on how to become an animagus?" he asked quickly.

"Not much, you just have to have a strong will to do it and a good understanding of Transfiguration," Sirius explained. "If you have both of those just about anyone can do it, what often happens though is the lack of will."

"Well, not everyone grows up with the thought of wanting to transform into an animal," Harry said, but even as he said it he knew that was a lie. Most often people were fascinated by the idea of becoming something else, especially animals that often had traits that humans did not. "So anyone else have any serious questions?" he asked. When no one spoke up, he turned to his staff of friends. "Alright, we have about twenty minutes left, Aderes you need to get Draco back to the infirmary before the charm wears off," he warned him. "If we get in trouble, because you're running around with an injured person I'll skin you."

"R, right," Aderes said nervously heading towards the exit with Draco.

"Sirius, Lupin, thanks a lot. That was extremely helpful. If you're not busy would you come back next week with help on defensive spells and battles? You guys have had a lot more experience than I have as far as death eater battles go…."

"Sure Harry," Lupin smiled. "It'd be a pleasure to help you hone their skills. The better they're trained here the less they're likely to end up worst outside the school…"

"My thoughts exactly," Harry said uneasily. "These are my classmates…even if I don't know them that well I don't want to see any of them die…"

"You do have random bits of your mother in you," Sirius sighed heading for the door. "Remus we need to do a sweep of the castle and then head outside."

"Hey…umm Sirius…would it be easier on you guys if you were using the map?" Harry asked just realizing that he still had the thing in is possession. "I was going to mention it during lunch, Hermione told me to ask during Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I forgot."

"Yeah that would be a great help," Lupin said. "Where is it?"

"It's in my trunk next to my bed in the dorm. It's shoved into my Quidditch through the Ages book."

"Great, thanks," Sirius said with a wave. They said their goodbyes and the two left leaving Ron, Hermione, and Harry to deal with the rest of the class. "Alright then, next week will be full out battles. I'm hoping the room of requirements will transform into a kind of dungeon like maze. We'll be battling each other in an anything goes duel besides unforgivables. We'll make sure to have healing potions and such on the side lines for anyone who gets hurt and…what?" Harry asked staring at Hermione.

"I'll tell them," she said moving forward so she was standing beside Harry. "Just in case we'll have waiver forms for anyone to sign that way if someone does get hurt no one is to blame. This will be a practice drill and it will be dangerous. If you don't want to participate that's your choice, don't show up or you can watch from the side lines."

"Oh, I guess that is a good idea," he whispered to her before getting the attention back from the class. "I want the rest of the twenty minutes spent doing drills. Any spell you need to work on do it, next week will be almost like a test to see how much you guys are improving, so do your best."

(X)

"I take it Ron went to the infirmary?" Hermione asked once it was just the two of them. Tom had yet to return from taking Draco back and Ron had run off to join them.

"Of course, you didn't think he'd leave those two alone did you?" he asked snickering.

"I suppose not."

"So is Krum still coming?" Harry asked. The Christmas gathering wasn't too far off and Harry was still wondering what it was going to end up like. He'd asked his boyfriend in passing what one of the parties had been like when he was here the first time, but all he'd done was shudder and tell Harry they'd be better off working in Hogwart's kitchen the rest of their lives.

"Yes," Hermione said happily. "It won't be too much longer. The party is next week."

"Yeah, then we get to leave," he said letting out a happy sigh. "I enjoy my time at Hogwarts, but with everything that's been happening lately…hey, you talk to Lupin a lot," Harry said suddenly. "Has he mentioned anything about the Forbidden Forest?"

"Like what?" she asked.

"You know…anything. When we had practice the other day he said to stay out of it, something about people tempers shooting through the roof, because of the woods," he half lied. Lupin had mentioned it, but hadn't actually agreed with Harry's theory.

"Oh he told you?" Hermione asked. "I thought it was odd myself…how could a forest, even if it's the Forbidden Forest change people's attitudes?"

"I think someone's in there doing it," he said feeling slightly guilty about tricking Hermione. He hadn't really thought she'd know anything beyond what he did, but obviously, he'd been wrong. "Like a group of death eaters or something, I wouldn't think it'd be too hard for them to sneak in there."

"Probably not," she agreed.

They spent the rest of their walk talking of theories about the woods, but they never really focused on any of them. In the end, Harry was just glad that they were doing some research on the woods like he'd asked them to and not just ignoring his suggestion.

Strangely enough, Harry fell asleep before Tom ever returned from the infirmary. When he woke up the next morning, he was surprised that his boyfriend had still yet to return. Feeling uneasy, he grabbed his glasses off the side table noticing a note. He picked it up and opened recognizing it as another summons to Dumbledore's office. "Another get together tonight Harry. Shall see you then," Harry read aloud.

With that in mind Harry changed quickly and headed down into the common room wondering what tonight's lesson would be. Tom had said just the night before yesterday that he was getting Harry prepared for the next lesson when he mentioned Draco and his deciding on the necklace to seal his spirit into.

"Well, at least it should be an interesting lesson," he said. As soon as he came down the steps, he hoped to find Tom lying on the couch or in a chair, but was met with a completely empty room. "Nothing," he muttered looking around the common room again just to be sure he hadn't missed his boyfriend. It was too early for Sirius to be there, he was no doubt still at Hagrid's hut with Lupin so he wasn't too worried about that, but rather where his boyfriend was. 'Where are you?' Harry mentally asked hoping he could just get an answer instead of risking getting into trouble and going to look for him himself. 'Tom-'

'What?' came the mental reply.

'Where in the world are you? You never came back last night,' Harry scolded.

'I guess I fell asleep in the infirmary.'

'Well we have a meeting with Dumbledore tonight,' he said before shutting his half of the bond. He decided he didn't need to wait for a reply from the heir since he didn't even have the decency to warn him the night before he wouldn't be coming back. "He could have at least said something," he muttered. "If I did something like that Hogwarts would have been burned to the ground already while he tried to find me."

Harry waited the rest of the day for Tom to show up just so he could jump him, but oddly enough, the heir never did come to any of their classes. By the time dinner rolled around and the Gryffindor had heard nothing, not even when he called to him through the bond he began to get worried. Whenever he asked Sirius about it, his godfather merely shook his head and told him not to worry, which made him worry that much more.

"Professor Dumbledore, have you seen Tom?" Harry finally asked when he'd arrived at the headmaster's office with still no sign of his boyfriend. "I haven't been able to get a hold of him since this morning and I haven't seen him all day…"

"Ah yes, do not worry Harry, I sent Tom on a bit of an errand," he said smiling. "He shall be joining us later in the lesson."

"Oh…okay," Harry, said relief flooding through him and being replaced with curiosity. "Will you tell me what kind of errand he's doing?" he asked.

"Perhaps when he returns," Dumbledore said evenly. "Now then, why don't we get started?"

"Yes sir," Harry said unsure of what else to say. He really wanted to know what was going on, but he knew well enough that Dumbledore wouldn't let him know until he was ready. "So what are we seeing this time?"

"This time," Dumbledore said pulling out a small vial. "I have managed to obtain some of Tom's memories. I myself haven't seen them as of yet, but I figured we could both explore his mind a bit while he was away."

"So that's why you sent him away….He knows you have these memories right?"

"Oh yes, why do you think he agreed to the errand?" Dumbledore removed the cork on the vial and poured it into the basin that they used for all the other memory viewings. The silver liquid poured out smoothly upon which Dumbledore motioned towards it. "Ready, Harry?"

"Yes Professor," he said determined not to panic. He desperately wanted to know some of the heir's past so he could better understand him. He leaned forward into the liquid this time managing to land on his feet. "This is…"

"Hogwarts, back when Tom and Voldemort were in school," Dumbledore confirmed for him. Standing in front of them was Tom looking exactly the same age as he did now only his hair seemed shorter, his skin paler, and it looked as if he hadn't had a good night's rest in some weeks.

"That's our Tom right?" Harry asked just to make sure.

"Yes, Voldemort at this time had longer hair if you remember."

"Right," Harry said hoping he'd be able to keep the two separated.

"I don't want to do this," Aderes muttered grabbing his bag tightly. He was standing on the top level of the moving staircases staring over the railing and looking down. His knuckles began turning white from grasping the bag so hard and in a second, he threw it off onto the floor and knelt beside it.

"Seems he's more prone to mood swings here than now…"

"Yes…he was quite bad at this age," Dumbledore agreed.

"I'm not his slave, I won't do this. I can't do this," he growled dumping everything in the bag out, which turned out to be three potion bottles, a book on charms, and four objects Harry couldn't even begin to guess what they were.

"Professor Dumbledore, what are those?"

"Dark objects Harry…I had no idea he'd gotten a hold of anything like that…"

"What do they do?"

"…A few of those steal memories…the last one steals the victim's life…" He sounded quite unnerved to Harry, not that he blamed him, as this was something he was learning for the first time himself.

"Want to kill off the headmaster? Mime Caleb? Well have fun trying Tom," Aderes hissed spitting on the objects he'd dropped on the floor. He used a spell to remove the binding on the book, which turned out to actually be a hexing book and set fire to all of it. When the flames finally died down he stomped them out, shoved his wand back into his robes, and placed his bag back onto his shoulder. "He's going to murder me now," he said quietly. Instead of trying to fix anything though he brought his foot up smashing the dark objects into tiny pieces that had no chance of every being repaired. Satisfied he used his wand to clear it away.

"I can't believe you almost went through trying to kill the headmaster!" Harry screamed despite knowing well that his boyfriend couldn't hear him. This after all was just a memory and you couldn't interact with memories.

"Calm down Harry, let us follow him."

Harry turned to see that Aderes was in fact heading down the steps and the two quickly went after him. There was nothing, but silence until they were in the entrance hall that led to the Great Hall. He was just about to head to the dungeons when five girls jumped in front of him, all grinning from ear to ear.

"Aderes! Where have you been?" The first one asked coyly. "You were supposed to be tutoring me in potions," she pouted.

"And you promised to help me with Charms," another one added.

"My brother needed some help," Aderes said smiling at them, four of the five nearly swooning. Harry on the other hand instantly noticed that this was one of the heir's fake smiles and instantly felt like taunting the girls even if they couldn't hear him.

"Don't fall for that," the last girl snapped. "You broke your promise, either get to the library now to help us or we're not talking to you until the holidays over."

"You'd really do that to me Umbridge?" Aderes asked in a mock sad sigh. "I've been so good to you too."

"The Umbridge?" Harry asked in horror.

"No, no. This would be the Grandmother of the Umbridge you know," Dumbledore said patting Harry on the shoulder. Harry couldn't think of a time he was more relieved to hear one of Dumbledore's answers.

"You're a useless liar Aderes. Your looks and charm may get you passed the others, but guess what, you don't fool me and you never will. You're just using us. Come on girls," she said turning her back on the heir and walking off. The other girl's looked hesitant, but followed after their leader soon enough so as not to look bad in front of their friend.

"Were they friends or something?" Harry asked curiously.

"Aderes never really interacted with many of the students…he did have a few I suppose you could call friends, but for the most part he distanced himself, I'm guessing now that it had to do with keeping them safe."

"Idiot girls," Aderes said arrogantly. "Like I'd ever take any of you to Slughorn's party anyway. William has a better chance though," he snorted.

"That makes me feel so much better," Harry growled. Before he could try to jump the memory though he headed down into the dungeon where the two followed after him. They stopped halfway in. Aderes leaning against the wall and waiting silently, Tom and four others came out of a room a few minutes later.

"I got the rest of the information out of Slughorn," Tom smirked. "That old man cracked so easily. Hand over the charms book." Shrugging Aderes pulled out the charms book cover and handed it over to Tom. "Ha ha, where's the rest of the book you scum?" he asked glaring at him.

"What? I forgot the rest of the book? I guess I am useless," Aderes laughed. "That sucks."

"Don't screw with me Aderes, your power is nothing compared to mine, I could easily have you erased."

"Go ahead, who's going to notice?" Aderes asked folding his arms across his chest. "Well?"

"Where's the book?" Tom demanded his wand pointed at Aderes' head.

"I burned it," he said dodging to the side and taking off. "Guess who's not winning this round?" He screamed.

"Get him!" Tom roared going after him. "He's the only one who knows the incarnation!"

"And guess how it's staying?" Aderes hissed in the snake language.

Harry and Dumbledore both had to run as quickly as they could in order to keep up. They made a few turns before Aderes ended going back up into the main hall.

"GET BACK HERE!" Tom screamed shooting a binding curse at Aderes. He dodged again and started up the stairs laughing when the steps began moving once he was on them.

"Guess you lose," he sneered.

"Oh please," Tom, growled using the binding curse on the stairs instead. The moving staircase gave a loud groan before slowing down until it completely froze. "Fool."

"He's already half way up the stairs…." Harry said noticing that the taunt by Aderes had only been to throw Tom off and that his boyfriend was already running down the third floor hall.

"Well then we have better follow him," Dumbledore said grimly. They went after him hoping not to miss a thing. Aderes ducked into the charm's room, Harry and Dumbledore just barely making it in as well. He shut the door quietly and locked it with his wand using a spell that Harry had never heard before.

"I need to get out of here," Aderes said looking around the room. "There has to be some place I can hide." He looked around the room and finally headed towards the window. "I guess I'll have to jump." Sliding the window open he climbed over the edge looking down at the window below him.

"You've got to be kidding me," Harry said staring at his boyfriend.

"Come Harry, if we lose him we'll merely be thrown out of the memory," Dumbledore instructed. The Gryffindor nodded walking towards the window, but he'd barely made it when Tom kicked the Charm's door open and stomped over to the window, two of his lackey's behind him.

"ADERES!" He screamed aiming his wand out the window. The spell bounced off the glass however and hit a student that was beneath them in the field. Aderes didn't seem in the least bit phased and jumped out the window to the lower level.

"That spell must really be important," Harry muttered throwing himself through the window into the second floor classroom. Dumbledore landed gracefully beside him and the two took off running. Aderes had already vanished down a corner, Tom close behind and following. Both his lackey's seemed to have been left on the third floor unable to overcome their fears of jumping out the third floor window. Harry didn't blame them.

"Do you honestly believe you can hide from me?" Tom demanded.

"I think I have a better chance at it than you do," Aderes spat. Suddenly a blinding flash of white light came down the hall. It turned blue and slammed into Tom sending him flying into the wall nearby.

"A lightning spell," Dumbledore said breathlessly. "To think he could cast such a spell at that age…"

"Professor, he's getting away," Harry pointed down the hall to Aderes' retreating form.

"So he is," Dumbledore said pleasantly and began running.

Snickering, Harry followed.

It took a few minutes, but Dumbledore realized that Aderes was heading for his office. The Headmaster led them down a short cut through one of the many passages, and ended up right in front of the Transfiguration room. Aderes showed up some seconds later kicking the door in and then freezing.

"How did you…?" His voice trailed off and Harry could finally see he was scared. In the room stood Tom holding a boy Harry had never seen before by the back of the neck. The Gryffindor couldn't get a good look at him, but the boy was a Ravenclaw from the look of the robes and had long brown hair to his shoulders. He seemed a bit on the skinny side, but besides that Harry had a feeling that this boy was quite good looking. He was on all fours his head bent down, a wand pointed to his head.

"Well, Aderes, what say you? Should I be the one who ends his miserable mud blood life, or will you give me the spell?" Tom asked, a sick smile crossing his features.

"And if I want him to live?" Aderes asked all traces of fear gone. "What makes you think I'll hand over any information for that boy?"

"I happen to know you were planning to take him to Slughorn's party," Tom said arrogantly.

"Was I?" Aderes asked with a shrug. "I can't remember; seems I'm getting old fast." He let out a sigh, walking towards them. "And what a horrible time to forget anything, too!" he said dramatically.

"I'm warning you," Tom hissed, the tip of his wand directly on the boy's forehead. "I'll kill him."

"Then do it, coward," the boy growled. "I'd never bow down to the likes of you!"

"Is this where you've gotten your twisted ideas, brother?" Tom asked, his eyes narrowing. "From this mud blood?"

"I'm twisted?" Aderes asked with a laugh. "You've got to be kidding me. You want to murder a student for insulting you, but I'm mad for wanting people to live. You're a real nut y'know that?"

"One more word out of you that isn't the spell and he dies!"

"I can't put the school in danger over one person," Aderes said, looking away. "However, in the same sense…I can't let you harm anyone either." His wand out and pointed at Tom he shot him with another blast of lightning that upon hitting him branched out hitting any henchmen that were also in the room, including two hidden ones that'd been under Dumbledore's desk and in a closet. "William?" Aderes asked, holding his hand out.

"William?" Harry asked frowning. He'd heard his boyfriend mention the name when they'd first entered the memory.

"Is happily married and works for the ministry," Dumbledore said before Harry's jealousy could get the best of him.

"Right…this is the past," the Gryffindor reminded himself.

"Aderes, what's going on?"

"You need to go find Dumbledore," Aderes said quickly. "I'll make sure these guys don't go anywhere. Give him this," he said pulling out a small piece of folded up paper. He handed it to William, who took it, placing it into his robe pocket.

"Why don't you just come with me?" He asked, almost pleaded.

"Because if Tom gets out of here and starts attacking anyone else I'll never forgive myself. Now go find Dumbledore." William gave a sharp nod and ran out of the room without looking back once. "As for you," Aderes growled clasping his wand tightly. "I have every right to end you," he hissed in the snake language. "I could just destroy you; end you….I want to see you suffer….suffer for all the things you've done to me!" Aderes screamed grabbing the nearest chair with his free hand and slamming it down onto Tom's unconscious form. The chair split into two pieces falling onto each side of the Slytherin student. "If I could just stop you from breathing…be the only one to exist…"

"Do you actually think that would make your life better?" Tom suddenly asked sitting up. The wood that'd been left on his robes fell to the floor with small clanks and yet they seemed to echo out within the whole room. Bleeding, robes ripped, and his right eye turning black, Tom lifted his wand up aiming it at Aderes' head. "Don't make me laugh."

"Anything would be better than this," Aderes hissed. "I will not be your pawn!" Suddenly Harry's boyfriend no longer looked sane and his eyes seemed more slanted than usual. His wand still aimed at Tom as well he walked around Dumbledore's desk heading towards a small shelf. "You wouldn't understand that though, would you? No, you're too good for that," Aderes laughed. "You'd never be a pawn, right? Or maybe you already are a pawn…" His hand enclosed around something and Harry quickly realized it was the necklace. "No, not yet, perhaps…but you will be," he went on still in the snake language. "You'll be my pawn; you'll obey me when I kill you, leaving your body for the maggots to infest, and I'll be the new dark lord!"

"Never!" Tom screamed, but the killing curse that came out of his wand merely slammed into Dumbledore's shelf, nothing more. It creaked and groaned before smashing into the floor leaving a good deal of dust and smoke in the room causing Tom to start coughing.

The white fog came and went so quick that Harry had to do a double take to figure out his surroundings. They were no longer within the halls of Hogwarts's rather they were in a bedroom that looked suited for a person of royalty. The floor was hard wood the walls a rich cream color, both of them just shouting expensive, while the bed was one of the biggest Harry had ever laid eyes upon. He guessed it could easily hold five people side by side and all of them would be able to comfortably lie out upon it. The comforter itself was velvet, emerald green in color clashing beautifully with the silver pillows near the headboard. To the side of the room near an enormous window with silk green curtains was a sturdy oaken desk, one which Harry instantly realized Draco Malfoy was sitting at.

"I thought you were gone. I haven't seen you since you foolishly ran off after Potter into the graveyard."

"My solid form was destroyed…I'm surprised you remember any of that," Tom said from a chair beside Draco. He looked unnerved that Draco seemed to know this information.

"Please, the Malfoy's have their memories altered? Don't make me laugh," Draco snorted. "Father knows enough people to thwart that."

"Dumbledore didn't," Tom smirked. "His mind was wiped clean."

"Which just proves my point all the more," Draco said arrogantly. "But it's why you're here, isn't it?" he asked standing up. "You promised to make me better than my father, but if you can't even withstand a single curse from Lord Voldemort, I don't see how you could possibly-"

"Shut up!" Tom warned, his eyes narrowing to slits. "Let's get one thing straight. Regaining a solid form does not happen overnight," the heir started getting to his feet and walking over to Draco. "Yes, I lost the battle; what did you expect? I had to jump into the curse's aimed at Harry head on so he could run. Then his damn followers all struck me as well. It took all summer to mend this form!" he roared, slamming Draco into the wall.

"Let go," Draco growled.

"You're not abandoning me! I'm getting closer-"

"You're a fool!" Draco snapped, managing to push Tom off of him. "You're just a kid; you can't do anything for me! Get out of my house."

"Fine; go ahead and run back to daddy. Have fun serving a crazy snake looking, unicorn blood drinking bastard child," the heir growled.

"You're a bastard child yourself," Draco pointed out calmly. "I don't want to get caught up in this anymore."

"Daddy's boy," Tom spat. "You'll never get out of his shadow." That said, the heir turned his back on Draco and walked out of the room.

"You'd think they were eight," Harry muttered after the confrontation was over. What was really going through his mind though was about what Tom had said about jumping in front of Harry so he wouldn't get hit in the graveyard. The Gryffindor could easily recall being in the graveyard and dueling Voldemort. What had saved him had been his parents, not Tom.

"Well, Harry, Tom has never been known for being mature," Dumbledore sighed. The words had barely left the headmaster's mouth when another fog came and went. They were now standing inside Harry's bedroom in number four Privet drive. Seeing a movement from out of the corner of his eye, Harry directed his attention towards his bed, which had a year younger Harry sitting on it holding the moon star necklace up. "I take it you know this place?"

"Y, yes," Harry said, walking towards his younger self. "This is the first night I had the necklace…the night we met," Harry said, trying to hide a blush. At least that's what Harry wished to believe. Having heard Draco's words from the past memory he was beginning to wonder if perhaps he had met Tom long before now, but for some reason, just couldn't remember that time. "I never saw things like this though," Harry admitted. That night his attention had been completely focused on the necklace and nothing else so he'd never even guessed at all the things he'd missed going on. He'd never noticed once Tom's shadow form sitting behind him, head on his shoulder, arms around his waist while his younger self held the necklace up.

"Show me what Dumbledore's doing," the younger Harry said. The shadow lifted its hand up, touching the bottom of the necklace. A light flashed from his hand to the necklace and suddenly the image appeared.

"You know I can't do that," the shadow snickered, the words sprawling onto the star as he spoke them.

"I know, but the pictures you show me amuse me to no end," the younger boy laughed.

"I had no idea that's how the necklace worked," Harry said in awe. He always had thought that Tom was completely incased within the necklace unless the shadow exited it, but what he was seeing now was showing him a completely different side. It seemed Tom was always out of the necklace, or at least, he was when he was interacting with people; it was just up to him whether someone saw him or not.

And then the fog came wiping out the memory and they were standing back in Dumbledore's office. Harry blinked a few times wondering if they were in another memory since Tom was standing there, but one good look told him this was his Tom, and not the one from the memories.

"Did you enjoy learning something?" The heir asked, holding his arms out to Harry.

"A bit," Harry admitted, smiling slightly. "No surprises; well, nothing too big."

"Good," the Slytherin said, closing his eyes. He licked Harry's neck and nuzzled him. "So, did that answer your question, Dumbledore?"

"I suppose it answered a few of mine," Dumbledore said, taking a seat behind his desk. "Tom how in the world did you get those objects into the school?"

"I didn't, Voldemort did, and I was just holding them."

"Why didn't you give them to me?"

"…I don't know I should have. I ended up destroying them anyway."

"Yes fine…I need some time to think about this," the headmaster said, pointing to his office door. "We'll finish this lesson at a later date."

"Right," Tom said, taking Harry's hand and leading him out of the room. "Guess I've really pissed him off."

"Tom…can I ask you something?" Harry asked, fidgeting a bit.

"Huh?" said boy questioned, tilting his head to the side. "Is this about the book?"

"Do I look like Hermione?" Harry asked, glaring at him. "The boy, William, what was he to you?" Harry demanded.

"Oh right, I forgot that part was in there," the heir said nervously. "Well it's nothing now, he's married and has three or four kids," he said laughing. "You can't possi-" Tom's words were cut off when Harry managed to pin him to the nearby wall.

"You ran off without a word; if I'd done that, Hogwarts would have been destroyed. You have a crush on someone; Cho and I didn't even date, but you had her death date set if she even got near me. I have every right to know!"

"…I guess you do," Tom said, his eyes forming to a slight glare. "And just what do you plan to do with this information anyway? He's an old man; I have no intention of going after him. I've seen him at Draco's manor, he's nothing to me."

"Just like I'll be once I get older," Harry hissed.

"Fool, my body is growing along with yours. I'm not immortal, I'm not able to remain young, I'll be aging right along with you," he said evenly. "Stop jumping to conclusions!"

"Isn't nice is it?" Harry asked, suddenly walking down the hall as if he'd never pushed his boyfriend. "Me jumping to conclusions I mean."

"What do you mean?" Tom asked, going after him.

"Don't do it to me anymore," Harry warned him, giving the heir a dark look. "You can easily see the results."

"Are you threatening me?" he asked in mock horror. "And what could these results possibly be?"

"I won't let you into the bath tonight," Harry said flatly. "Deal?"

"You can't mean that!"

"I do mean that, so be good," Harry snickered, leaning against him. "Okay?"

"Fine," Tom sighed, his arm going around Harry's waist. "You're evil you know that?"

"Am I, future dark lord?" Harry asked, grinning.

"Don't call me that!"

(TBC)

There we go…much better. The first time I wrote this it came out badly, but I feel a lot better with this rewrite.


	28. Quidditch Realizations

Yes, yes I'm behind.

Warnings: It's shonen ai, get over it people.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 28: Quidditch Realizations

It seemed like it'd taken forever to get to this point, but it was finally here, the first Quidditch game of the season. Harry's first game as the team captain and he wasn't about to have them lose. The Gryffindor team had practiced too hard, put so much time into training it seemed impossible for Harry that they could possibly come out on the losing end of this game.

"I need to win this. I have to show how good I am," he said determinedly. This goal had popped up a while ago; Harry wanting to make sure everything would turn out great in front of Lupin and Sirius, so much so that it had completely over taken his thoughts the night before.

(Flash back)

"Harry?"

"Huh?" Said boy asked. The couple had just walked into the common room having left Dumbledore's office a few minutes before. "Don't worry about the memories; we'll deal with them later."

"I don't want you to play tomorrow," Tom blurted out.

"What?" Harry asked coldly. He'd had enough of Tom telling him to drop Quidditch. "How can you ask me not to?" He demanded.

"I don't like it, you could get hurt."

"Everything will be fine," the Gryffindor tried to assure his boyfriend. Before his hand even touched the heir's shoulder though, Tom jerked back glaring and started up the steps.

"Must be great being ignorant!" he yelled down.

"Well if you'd ever tell me anything I wouldn't be so ignorant!" Harry screamed after him.

(End flash)

Harry closed his eyes trying to push back the memories. After the small fight they'd gone to bed, the Slytherin having shoved a pillow between the two of them. Morning had been no better, as Tom hadn't spoken a single word to him. The only good thing was that the Slytherin had come to watch the match, which Harry was going to use to his advantage to prove to his boyfriend that Quidditch was quite safe.

"How could he possibly think Quidditch is dangerous?" Shaking his head he turned to Ron who he'd just realized was standing beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"F, fine. Aderes snuck Draco into the stands, but my stomach is still doing odd turns," he said uneasily.

"Just remember, even if you lose, Draco's team will win," Harry whispered to his friend encouragingly. He didn't believe what he was saying, would rather be thrown into a bucket full of acid right now than lose, but if it'd cheer his friend up, he'd pretend.

"If I lose I have to play a penalty game," Ron said in a sickly tone.

"I'm not going to ask," Harry muttered turning from his friend. "Let's go!"

The team marched out onto the field, all of them getting ready to mount their brooms. Harry determined to play this game magnificently gave everyone a nod and grin before he walked forward to shake hands with the Slytherin team captain.

"Let's have a fair game," Madam Hooch warned the two. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Harry said walking back to his team mates. He mounted his broom ready and when the whistle finally blew took off into the air as the balls were released. Instantly the game was started, the quaffle already flying through Gryffindor's ranks towards the Slytherin's goal post. Harry merely wished to get the game over with as quickly as possible while still looking good.

"Should have known things wouldn't go easily," Harry sighed when ten minutes had already passed by. He didn't know why he was so nervous or being so impatient, the entire team had practiced as much as possible, Ron was doing a great job protecting the goals, and he was very well aware Quidditch games tended to last at least half an hour or more, but he was still annoyed.

Ginny managed to score two goals, one after the other and to Harry it looked like she'd be scoring once again very soon, but even with all this good luck, he was starting to feel like something was wrong. He did another complete round of the stadium his feeling of dread growing. When he looked to get some encouragement from Sirius and Lupin they were both waving Gryffindor flags and screaming loudly. Tom looked rather annoyed before he seemed to notice Harry's gaze.

'What's wrong?' the heir asked at once.

'Nothing…I told you no mind speech during the game, it's distracting.'

'Because you were completely paying attention before,' the heir said sarcastically.

'Shut up,' Harry snapped playfully.

"ANOTHER GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR!" The current announcer screamed.

"Oh good," Harry said coming back into the game. He started searching harder for the snitch when he noticed something near the Forbidden Forest. It wasn't anything to panic about; just a movement out of the corner of his eye, but it was enough to get his attention.

'The snitch just flew pass you.'

"Wh, what?" Harry jerked around. Sure enough the snitch was zooming off not far from where he was at. Glaring he took off after the snitch his hand out stretched to get it. Within a minute his hand had enclosed around the fluttering gold ball. "I got it!" He screamed loudly so everyone could hear. He began descending to the ground until he saw a cloaked person standing on the field, their hand outstretched to him.

The Gryffindor quickly stopped in the air where he was in horror. How had a death eater gotten onto the field? Why was no one else giving them a second look or even trying to restrain them?

'Tom,' Harry said shakily. 'Why isn't anyone doing anything?' When he got no response he looked to the stands only to see that everyone was gone. He was in the air completely alone in the stadium, the seats burnt, and the goals gone. When he looked back down to where the death eater was five more had grouped with the first one. 'I don't have my wand,' he told the heir quickly. 'It's against the rules to carry your wand.' Still getting no response he began to ascend back into the air just to have a blast of lightning come flying towards his broom. It struck his firebolt dead on snapping it in two where he came crashing down onto the wet ground.

(X)

"I'll kill you all!" Harry screamed. His hand had gone instinctively to his pocket where he kept his wand, but instead his hand met with his bed.

"Will you relax?" The heir hissed in the snake language. "You passed out after you grabbed the snitch," he explained letting go of Harry's arms when he gave the heir an odd look. "You don't remember do you?"

"What? There were death eaters on the field," Harry said looking down. "I called out to you, why didn't you come?"

"I heard you," Tom said his hand going to Harry's face. He began stroking the Gryffindor's cheek gently before starting to twist his hair around his finger. "I had no idea what you were talking about, I saw no death eaters."

"I'm not going mad," he said flatly. He wasn't about to get into another long drawn out fight with his boyfriend about how dangerous one thing or another was or how crazy he was. He knew what he'd seen.

"I never said you were I just find it odd what you saw. I mean the stadium was burnt and-"

"You were reading my thoughts?"

"I had to find out what was wrong with you somehow," Tom snapped. "Something caused you to see that, but I don't want to jump to conclusions yet. I don't think you're a seer."

"Shoot me if I am," Harry groaned. He didn't think he could take seeing things like that on a daily basis or even once a month. Why couldn't he see good things, like who'd win the house cup or Voldemort dying?

"You're not," Tom smiled at him. He sat down beside Harry on the bed then letting out a slow controlled breath. "You know, I swear I've seen that scene play out before myself, just not here." He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"And where would you have seen me playing Quidditch besides here?" Harry asked closing his eyes. He dragged Tom down so he could put his head against Tom's chest. He felt so relaxed then he felt like he could remain the rest of his life there.

"I can't remember all of it." He started to play with Harry's hair again. "Maybe it was all just a bad dream."

"I wasn't dreaming."

"I meant what I was thinking," Tom scolded. "I know what you had wasn't a dream it was something else."

"Where are Lupin and Sirius?" He hadn't realized that his godfather was nowhere to be seen, but now that he was getting a good look around it was making him uneasy. "They're supposed to be watching over us aren't they?"

"Our wonderful nurse made them stay outside the doors," Tom grinned. He leaned down kissing Harry on top of the head before closing his eyes. "Let's try and piece this together from the start."

"Maybe we should just drop this," Harry said. "It was stupid of me; I was just having a nightmare…while awake."

"Harry," Tom warned his eyes narrowing. "I'm trying to help here."

"I know, let's just leave something alone for once okay?"

"Are you scared?" Tom asked in disgust. "I thought you had more guts than that."

Growling Harry lifted his hand and allowed his fist to collide with the side of Tom's head. The Slytherin fell off the bed hard, Harry turning his back to him.

"Go drop dead."

"Just so you're aware, I'm taking you with me!" The Slytherin stood up and headed towards the door. "You need to stop over reacting."

Harry winced when the door slammed behind him. He didn't want to get into another fight, but he also didn't feel like dealing with the possibli-

"Your friends are pushing," Tom said cutting into his thoughts, the door shutting again. "They realized I wasn't in here long enough and ordered me back."

"I had enough problems last year," Harry said turning back to his boyfriend. "I don't want to be connected to Voldemort."

"You're not," Tom said sitting down on Draco's bed, Harry didn't blame him. "What you saw was something else."

"Like what?" Harry asked sitting up, his attention caught. It wasn't exactly the words themselves, but rather the way the heir was saying them. It was almost like he knew for sure what was wrong with Harry, he just wasn't explaining himself.

"Hey, I understand you two are supposed to act like a married couple, but some of us really are sick and hurt," Draco growled.

"Sorry," Harry muttered. He lifted his eyes to catch the heir's gaze so they'd lock. "I don't want another year of everyone thinking I'm mad, okay?"

"They won't. Look you're not being held here, let's go and get a snack. We'll talk about this somewhere else."

"Like where?"

"I don't know," Tom said holding his hand out to the Gryffindor. "Does it really matter?"

"I guess not." Grinning Harry took his hand, the two of them walking out of the infirmary.

Somehow Harry managed to get Tom off the subject of his vision or whatever it was by the time they'd made it down the staircase. Instead he directed his attention to helping him study for History of Magic. When that ended, the Gryffindor pinned the heir to a nearby chair allowing for the rest of their time to be spent making out instead of talking.

(X)

"These are beautiful," Harry grinned leaning against the Great Hall entrance. He was currently spending his break watching Hagrid, Lupin, Sirius, and Professor Flitwick decorate the many giant Christmas trees within the Great Hall itself. Tom was with Ron, the two of them getting Draco who was finally being released from the infirmary, Hermione had been with Harry earlier on, but left a while ago so she could deliver a letter to Krum, who was to be arriving at Hogwarts the very next day.

Harry had been tempted to help the others with the decorations, but found himself happy enough just watching. After all he'd be helping decorate number twelve soon enough. Somehow seeing the faint glows of the every lasting candles reflected on the trees and snow that was slowly drifting down from the ceiling calmed him considerably and he just didn't feel like doing anything anymore.

"Not to mention Aderes finally forgot-"

"Forgot what?" the heir asked coming up behind Harry and wrapping his arms around his waist. Sirius shot Tom a glare, but kept working silently on his tree.

"Oh finally, Lupin's managed to whip his dog," the heir said cheerfully.

"Yeah," Harry laughed hoping the Slytherin wouldn't push the other subject.

"Forgot what?" Tom asked destroying Harry's hope.

"Nothing."

"I don't forget anything," the heir said coldly. "Not unless it's of no importance."

"And it's not," Harry said quickly. "No importance at all." He leaned into the heir's embrace then a smile forming on his lips. "What do you think of the Great Hall?"

"No different from last year…no I take that back. It's much more cheerful," Tom laughed. "There's no toad running around threatening to arrest any of us."

"Oh how I miss those times," Harry said sarcastically. The couple shared a laugh for a few moments before Tom removed his arms from around Harry merely smiling at him.

"We need to head to class." Harry wanted nothing to do with classes, but nodded anyway following his boyfriend. "That party is soon," Tom said a few moments later.

"It won't be that bad, or at least I hope not." Harry had a feeling though that his boyfriend wasn't going to allow the party to be a pleasant one, rather the Gryffindor would no doubt spend most of his time making sure Tom didn't destroy anything or kill anyone. It wasn't like Harry enjoyed these gatherings with Slughorn either, but trying to make sure his boyfriend didn't end up in Azkaban was a pretty annoying thing too.

"You didn't have to go to the last one."

"Voldemort was at the last one," Harry pointed out. "He won't be there this time. Besides, didn't your memory take place before Slughorn's party? I thought you had already taken refuge in the necklace."

"Don't make it sound like that!" Tom snapped. "And yeah…I was in there."

"So how do you know this party is going to be as bad as the last one if you've never had the time to-?"

"Voldemort stole the necklace!"

Harry stared at his boyfriend a few seconds his eyes not blinking.

"He what?" the Gryffindor finally managed to ask.

"He was right behind me, he took the necklace. I was stuck with him and saw a lot of things for a year or so before Dumbledore managed to get the necklace back from him."

"Which is how you know so much about his closest death eaters," Harry decided. The heir gave a small nod and he couldn't help, but hug him. "It's okay, no one is going to hate you for that, it's not like you possessed Voldemort and made him do all these things and you were just in the necklace right?"

"Yeah, I never left it," he agreed. "I just watched I didn't have the strength to take a solid form and be able to stop him." He looked away at that point his eyes focused on the History of magic door.

"You feel guilty," Harry said in almost disbelief. "You saw all the murders he was committing and wanted to stop him!"

"Wouldn't you have?" Tom demanded turning back to the Gryffindor. "Don't you want to stop him now? What's the difference between those two times?"

"I'm not mad!" Harry said grabbing the heir's wand hand before he did anything stupid. "I'm glad, it shows how much of your human side has returned and really that you hadn't lost it to begin with." The heir stared at him dumbly then which caused Harry to start laughing. "Let's go to class, you deal much better with studies than you do life."

"Shut up."

(X)

It shocked Harry how fast the days seem to go by then, the heir mostly spending his time silently sitting in a chair reading or doing some kind of homework. The only way Harry got any time out of him it seemed, was if he sat down next to him so they could read the book at the same time. The Gryffindor was aware that his boyfriend wasn't doing this to be cold however; rather he was stuck in the past and trying to get his thoughts directed elsewhere. Slughorn's party was already that evening, but it didn't seem as if Tom was ready for it at all. When Harry came down the stairs wearing a decent set of dress robes, not the one's he'd bought for the dance, but still decent, he found the heir sitting in one of the many chairs near the fireplace staring at his Quidditch threw the ages book.

"This is the last thing I ever thought I'd see you reading," Harry grinned walking over to the Slytherin. "So why are you reading it? You're not ripping out the pages you don't agree with and throwing them in the fire are you?"

"Of course not," Tom sighed shutting the book. He looked up so he was getting an upside down view of Harry. "You look nice."

"You're coming to this party," Harry said flatly his grin gone. "I am not going alone so go upstairs and change."

"How did you even know I was going to say something like that?"

"I know you; I don't have to scan your thoughts every five minutes to understand how your brain works. Go change or we're sleeping in separate bedrooms while we're on break."

Growling the heir got up from the chair; the book clutched tightly in his hands and marched up the stairs a string of curses coming from him. Harry didn't mind however, as long as the heir was coming with Tom could curse the next few hours for all he cared. His main concern happened to be spending time with his boyfriend, not making sure he behaved.

"Which is probably a good thing, because making him behave tonight will probably be impossible," Harry sighed. Hermione had already warned him ahead of time that there was a good number of people Tom had whined to her about that would no doubt likely be there, another thing that bugged Harry. He couldn't understand why his boyfriend kept running off to Hermione whenever he had problems anymore instead of just telling Harry.

"Well?" Blinking Harry looked up so he could get a good view of what he was taking in. The heir was striking a pose in the middle of the steps wearing some random pair of dress robes. Harry had expected them to be green, but instead they were black, almost silk like looking. "They're Asian," Tom grinned. "Do you like them?"

"They look well on you," Harry said his face completely red. "Well" was a complete understatement though, as the robes made sure to cling to every right spot on the heir without actually being tight or reducing any kind of movement. They fell perfect around him; the shine from the cloth itself making it look like Tom's skin was glowing.

"I was hoping for utterly breathtaking, but I suppose this will have to do," the heir said mocking a sigh. "I try so hard to look good for you."

"Me and everyone else who takes the time to stare at you," Harry corrected him.

Looking slightly offended the heir passed him heading towards the portrait.

"Are you coming or should I just kill you and drag you down in a bag?"

"Okay you look great," Harry said hoping this would defuse the anger in his boyfriend. "I'm jealous."

"Too late, we're going to the party. Had you said it earlier I would have happily told Slughorn to go bury himself and curled up with you in bed for the next four or so hours."

"Liar, you'd have spent the entire time trying to get my clothes off." Not bothering to wait for an answer, Harry passed the Slytherin out into the corridor, Tom following seconds later. They didn't speak much until they'd walked past the large group of girls, all of them glaring at both Harry and Tom.

"Where are we meeting Ron and Draco so we can get them in?"

"They're waiting in front of the Slughorn's office." Or at least that's what Harry had thought. Soon enough however he realized it would be impossible for them to find anyone on a mere whim, as the entire corridor was filled with loud music and chatter, not to mention how many people seemed to fill the area. It seemed impossible that so many could fit into one teacher's office and Harry quickly realized the place must be charmed in order to hold more than it was supposed to.

"Is there anyone not here?" Harry asked Tom loudly. When he didn't answer he decided mind speech might be the only way to possibly be heard. 'Are you ignoring me or deaf?'

'Who could possibly hear anything with all this noise?' the heir asked highly annoyed. He was glaring at everything, his arms folded across his chest. 'Let's just find our friends.'

'Right, Hermione and Krum should be here already, you've never met Krum, and he's okay.'

'Yeah…'

The two of them headed in, both somehow managing to dodge Slughorn and a few other professors before they noticed Ron and Draco in a back corner. Harry had never been so relieved to find them in his life, as they'd somehow managed to locate a spot that wasn't bursting to the seams with people.

"Hey guys," he said loudly. "How did you get in here?"

"Snape," Draco replied casually. "Told me I deserved it after Aderes almost had my insides turned to ashes." Harry swore he saw Tom's eye twitch. "Hermione's already here, she and Krum went to get some drinks."

"Yours too?" he asked looking to his boyfriend. He didn't dare ask Tom to go get drinks, not in this mess and instead looked back to his friends. "It's pretty loud in here; you think they'd turn it down at least a little bit."

"Watch out," Ron said pointing behind Harry.

Harry didn't have a chance in hell though, before he'd even turned halfway, he was pinned to the floor by an overly excited, not to mention quite drunk, Sirius, Lupin behind trying to remove him from the Gryffindor.

"I'm sorry Harry! I turned my back for just a second-"

"This is why mutts shouldn't drink," Tom growled grabbing Harry's arms and removing him out from under his godfather. "What would have happened if he transformed while jumping?"

"My back wouldn't hurt half as much as it does now," Harry groaned. He managed to get himself to stand up without the heir's help, but his vision kept swirling around him and he wasn't sure if he was going to be sick or if this was just all due to having the wind knocked out of him.

"Hi Harry!" Sirius grinned holding his arms out to give Harry a hug. "Want some, fire whiskey?" he asked with a small hiccup.

"I suggest a shock collar," Tom said gritting his teeth. He grabbed Harry's arm and jerked him over towards Ron and Draco so hard he nearly hit the wall between the two.

"Aderes!"

"Really, he's just bad at holding his liquor, he's only had two glasses," Lupin sighed. "I tried to get him to drink nothing, but when I wasn't looking he was having a drinking contest with a vampire."

"There's a vampire here?" Tom asked in horror staring at Harry and back to Lupin.

Harry couldn't understand why Tom was so nervous about a vampire being at the party, they were friends with things much more dangerous than that.

"Yes I'm afraid so, Sanguini. Very nice fellow, but since alcohol doesn't quite affect vampires the same way it does humans…" he let out a long sigh and let go of Sirius' robe collar. "I don't know what to do with him anymore."

"You could just eat me," Sirius said happily looking like a puppy wagging his tail.

"Or we could just feed you to the giant spider in the forest," Tom suggested.

While the three went on with their normal fights Harry walked off with Ron and Draco so they could try and find Hermione and Krum. He trusted Lupin not to let Tom or Sirius set fire to Slughorn's party, for now anyway.

"So is there anything interesting going on here?" Harry asked the other two.

"I thought you wanted to spend time with Aderes," Draco said staring at him. "Did you forget?"

"No, I just remembered what he was like when I was around him. Seems I enjoy him better when I'm not always around him," Harry joked. "There's Hermione," he said pointing to their friend who was wearing a lovely set of purple robes. She and Krum were locked in a slow dance despite the rhythm of the song and seemed to be in their own little world.

"That looks like fun." Before anyone could protest Draco grabbed Ron by the wrist and dragged him off to partake in the slow dance leaving Harry alone and vulnerable in Slughorn's party. The potion master took no time in waiting, the second Harry was alone he had his arm around his shoulder and was leading him somewhere far away from his friends.

"Harry m'boy!" He said loudly a large grin on his face. "People, tons of people here to meet and that want to meet you as well! Can't anger them now can we?"

Harry wanted to scream yes he could anger them and chances were they wouldn't do anything with an enraged Tom standing behind him, but instead he just followed wondering what his professor was talking about. Surely there had to be one or two normal people in this place, after all, Ginny was there even if she was crazy.

"Harry, this is Worple! He wrote Blood brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires," he said enthusiastically.

"Harry Potter! So good to meet you! I've been talking to Slughorn here, been telling him I've wanted to meet you forever!"

"Really?" Harry asked nervously. He was used to having people fawn over him like this, but not with such energy.

"Really?" Harry heard Tom's voice echo, though it sounded a lot colder and threatening than his own voice. "Pray do tell why you wanted to meet Harry so badly."

"We, well to write a biography of course," the man half stuttered. "I mean where's Harry's Biography? We all want to know about Harry Potter the boy who-"

"Belongs to me, not you, not the rest of the world," Tom spat grabbing Harry by the arm and dragging him off again. Harry just blinked as he was once again dragged; he could easily understand the look of confusion on Worple's face and even felt a slight bit of respect for the man, because he took a step forward as if to go after Harry despite Tom, which was a very brave, yet foolish, thing to do.

"So where am I going this time?" Harry asked not really caring anymore. He'd been dragged around so much already he really wasn't worried about it anymore.

"I don't know, what happened to Draco and Ron?"

"They started slow dancing with each other when they saw Hermione and Krum doing it."

"They do like slow dancing don't they?" Tom snickered.

"How would you know?" Harry asked. "You weren't here when Hermione and Krum were…what aren't you telling me?" Harry demanded stopping and jerking his arm away from the heir. "There's something you know that you did that you haven't told me about."

"It's nothing really," Tom laughed, but Harry could easily tell from that laugh that it was something big.

"Aderes," he warned glaring at him. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing that can't be fixed," he said wrapping his arms tightly around Harry and kissing him deeply. The Gryffindor of course wasn't going to protest against this act, even allowed his head to fall onto Tom's shoulder once they broke apart so he could rest against him.

"Alright, that fixed the fighting, now what is it that you're hiding?"

(TBC)

Gods that took forever to write. You never know how many issues you can run into until you've gotten into college, seriously.


	29. It’s a Wonderful Christmas

Okay heading straight into chapter 29, what's to behold in this chapter? Good question, I wish I knew. Oh wait, I do. There's the rest of the party…the start of Christmas break….yeah should at least be fun to write. Would be more fun if I wasn't writing this in the middle of March with a clear blue sky and yellowish turning green grass staring at me through the window…I mean kind of loses the whole nice feeling of a calm quiet winter scene…okay I'm shutting up.

Warnings:It's shonen ai. If you are so slow as to not have yet realized this, go check yourself into a mental hospital, believe me, you're in desperate need of it.

Notes: (X)is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 29: It's a Wonderful Christmas

"Why ruin the good moment?" Tom asked laughing. "No we should be talking about something more joyous right? Christmas break starts tomorrow, we leave for number twelve tomorrow and every-"

"Tom," Harry said pulling him closer. "I'm not letting you go until you give me a somewhat decent answer," he whispered harshly into his ear. He slipped one of his feet behind one of the heir's own just in case he tried to make a run for it Harry could trip him to the floor and demand his answer.

"Why is it whenever we get together like this something happens?"

The words rang true to Harry, but he didn't really know how to give the heir an answer. Half of the time they were fighting when they got this close together due to something the heir had done or was going to do.

"It wouldn't have to happen if you'd just tell me everything. Half of what you've said tonight doesn't make sense." He wrapped his fingers between the heir's squeezing them tightly; more so he could make sure the Slytherin couldn't run than anything else. "I'm not going to get mad at you just tell me."

"I told Dumbledore I wouldn't, not yet," he said finally sounding a bit defeated.

"Fine." Harry tried not to get mad, but he already knew there was no chance of that. Despite being angry though he wasn't mad enough to walk out on the heir and remained standing there with his head on Tom's shoulder. "But as soon as you can tell me, you're going to, do you understand?"

"Mhmm."

'It's odd isn't it?' Harry mentally asked. 'We're doing the same thing the others did, just swaying even though the music doesn't call for it, but I don't see anything wrong with it.'

'There isn't,' Tom assured him tightening his embrace. They remained like this for some time until Hermione and the others found them. Harry nearly toppled over, the heir rushing over to Hermione the minute he saw her, the Gryffindor completely forgotten.

"Thanks," Harry growled glaring at his retreating boyfriend. He couldn't get himself to stay mad once he saw how happy Hermione and Tom were talking to one another. Instead he turned his attention to Krum who looked slightly bored now that his date had taken off with Harry's. "They'll be back soon."

"I love the way Herm-own-ninny just runs off."

Harry couldn't really tell if Krum was being sarcastic or not, but he swore he could see a hint of a smile on his face. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to take a guess at how their relationship was working.

"Yeah, she and Aderes just have that way about them," Harry said shaking his head. He felt like walking out of the party and just going to bed, but like Krum, he couldn't help smiling when Tom started laughing. "I can't stay mad."

"Who could possibly stay mad at them?" Krum asked.

"Someone with more willpower than the two of us have," he snickered. The longer Harry watched them talk, which in reality wasn't that long, the more relaxed he was with it. It wasn't like Hermione was trying to steal Tom from him, they were just friends, just like him and Draco were, there were. Sometimes they needed to speak with others and that wasn't a crime. "So are you staying with Hermione's family for the holiday?"

"For some time yes," he said with his heavy accent. "Her-own-ninny has said we will be joining Ron and Draco."

"Yeah I'm sure we'll be spending some time with them every now and then, mostly I'll be spending it with them…." his voice had trailed off at the sight of Lupin trying to remove Sirius from off the stage. It seemed like his godfather was holding a bottle of fire whiskey in both hands, his arms around one of the weird sisters. "Once he's no longer drunk."

"I see." Krum started laughing at this display and Harry felt his cheeks go red. Usually his godfather was well composed unless Tom was involved or as he had just found out that night, alcohol.

"Enjoying yourself Potter?"

Harry turned expecting to see Snape, but was rather met with the vampire Slughorn had been pointing out a half hour ago. He stared at the pale looking creature that was eyeing his neck longingly and took a step back.

"Kind of," he said his hands going to his pockets. With all the things he'd gotten himself involved in the past five years he knew to carry his wand with him at all times. "Just waiting for my boyfriend to stop driving my friend insane."

"Would you like to join me in a drink perhaps while you wait?"

"No that's really okay." He made sure Krum was gone before he took off into the crowd as quickly as he could. He didn't feel like being anyone's snack that night, or any night for that matter. He knew what a hard time Lupin had trying to hide his werewolf problem and that only occurred once a month, a vampire was a permanent transformation all year every day.

"Don't be so hasty."

The words completely caught the Gryffindor off guard and suddenly his back was pinned to a wall Sanguini closing in on him. The room was too loud for anyone else to notice what was taking place, to many people busy doing their own things for them to give the scene playing out before them a second look.

"I taste horrible," Harry tried with a small laugh. "I mean really horrible. Voldemort didn't even want it."

"I'll be the judge of that," the vampire said slowly, his long fingers going to Harry's neck.

"I'm sure you'd love to be." Beginning to get annoyed he removed his wand from his pocket and when Sanguini was to close for comfort lodged the wood into his stomach. "Are you going to back off now?" he asked narrowing his eyes. If he had to finish shoving the wood through or pull it out and go for the heart he would have no problem with it.

The vampire shot him a dirty look that just screamed it'd be back for revenge and moved away back into the crowd silently.

Relieved that he was now safe Harry shoved through the large crowd until he was outside of the room and in the cool dimly lit corridor. He felt much more at ease here than inside and sat down on the floor his back to a wall.

"I would have thought you'd love something like this," Snape's voice drawled from in front of him. Looking up Harry saw that Snape was standing across from him against the other wall. He seemed quite annoyed himself, which Harry was sure he was given Snape's usual attitude.

"It's too loud, too noisy, Aderes is in there playing with Hermione, Draco and Ron are making out in a back corner and Slughorn keeps trying to get me to meet people who are bound to kill me!"

"Yes, Sanguini did seem a bit hungry," the potion master smiled.

"You watched him try to drink my blood?" Harry asked in shock. He didn't know if he should feel slightly proud that Snape thought he could handle it by himself or horrified that the teacher just stood there to wait and see if he'd get bitten first.

"I was not far from you, you'd have lived."

"No wonder most of my family can't stand you." He grabbed his wand and started wiping the blood off on his robes.

"Am I to feel insulted by that?" Snape asked raising an eyebrow. At that point there was a loud scream followed by Lupin yelling in some language, Sirius' laughter following afterwards.

"Hardly," the Gryffindor sighed. "If anyone was insulted by that I would be shocked myself. I had no idea he got like this."

"Tom is no better," he said almost as if to warn him. "When he gets a hold of alcohol he is quite the amusing dangerous fiend."

"Great," Harry said shoving his wand back into his pocket. The last thing he needed was for someone to slip something into the heir's drink and for him to come out in some odd mood doing gods knew what. "Any suggestions?"

"Go back to your common room before he comes out?"

"We sleep in the same bed how is that supposed to help?" he asked glaring at him. To his satisfaction Snape looked quite pale after he said those words. "I meant if he does somehow get some alcohol how do I deal with him?"

"Your best bet," he said after a long pause, probably to get his bearings back. "Would be to remove his wand and tie him up."

"Yeah…paralyzing spells don't work well on him."

Harry ended up waiting an hour or so outside the party, most of it spent poking fun at Snape while he did the same back. He'd never had a conversation like this with the potion's master, but he found that he was really enjoying himself over all.

"Well perhaps if you could brew one of the simplest of potions I wouldn't have such a hard time believing you as far as becoming an auror."

"I can brew potions just fine now. It seems my new professor can actually teach us something and we're all doing just fine this year."

"Simply because he is too easy on all of you. He must be giving you extra credit just because you can get him connections not even you can comprehend Potter."

"That's a lie; I don't know anyone besides Dumbledore and Slughorn already knows him."

Snape stared at him as if he'd gone mad, but said nothing, rather studied the Gryffindor a few moments before he began shaking his head slowly.

"You are so dense Potter."

"From the lack of confidence you gave me," Harry spat standing up. "Why is he taking so long? Usually he's located me by now and has dragged me clear to another country." Scowling he clenched his fist tightly and walked back into the party. This time Snape followed behind him, almost it seemed as if he was acting like Harry's personal body guard, not that he minded. After the confrontation with Sanguini he didn't mind having a large group of people following him through the entire party until the vampire left.

"Harry, there you are," Lupin said cheerfully. "Sirius finally fell asleep, I took him back to his room and came back, and I hope he didn't embarrass you too much."

"Is that even possible?" Harry asked, but despite the words he was laughing. Somehow having just gotten rid of Sirius and all the problems he was causing made Lupin seem that much easier to talk to. "Want to get some non alcoholic drinks?"

"Sure, did you want one too Serves?"

"Why not?"

The three of them made their way through the slightly less crowded party and towards the house elves carrying the drinks. Once they had them all the three could do was stare at one another, they had never really been alone to talk to one another.

"So umm. How's the investigation of the Forbidden Forest going?" Harry asked catching both older men off guard. Harry had learned before though that a large gathering was one of the best places to do so as not to be overheard and thought this was one of the best places to do just that.

"Well…it's going alright," Lupin said uneasily. "We haven't really found a cause; just that someone is mixing things in the water. The water goes through everything; it's even in the air so it's causing everything else to react."

"So someone's trying to poison the forest?"

"Poisoning it would make our jobs much easier," Snape said with a scowl. "No, we are dealing with someone bent on warping the minds of every creature there and hoping it will turn them all against us."

"How much longer do you think it'll take for that to happen?"

"It won't Harry," Lupin said smiling. "We're already working on counter measures to stop it from spreading. It's not easy and so far are attempts haven't been…exactly helpful, but we're trying."

"If you call-"

"Where have you been?" Tom demanded of Harry after he'd shoved Snape to the side and took his spot. "I've been looking for you for an hour now!"

"Funny, I didn't hear you use the mind bond," Harry said rolling his eyes. "And don't push Snape out of the way just, because you're mad he gives Draco more attention than you."

"So I forgot about the link-"

"Thought you didn't forget important things like being jealous?"

"Are you trying to start a fight between us?" Tom asked annoyed.

"No, just being difficult," Harry laughed finishing off his drink and placing it on a house elf tray. "I'll talk to you guys later," he said waving to Lupin and Snape while going with his boyfriend. "We were talking about the forest."

"Anything new?" Tom asked looking around, Harry thought he looked bored.

"Yeah, but since you're not interested I'll drop it. What were you doing the whole time anyway?"

"Well I was talking to Hermione about something, but then Krum got mad and dragged her off so I started looking for you."

"Always glad to be the fall back," he laughed. "You want to leave?"

The words seemed to catch the heir off guard, because he suddenly stopped and turned to regard the Gryffindor slowly.

"Leave?"

"You know, exit the room, and head back to the common room?"

"Alone?" Tom asked in the same odd voice.

"Not that kind of alone," Harry growled.

"It'll be the last chance we get before we come back! Do you really think your godfather is going to leave us alone long enough to do anything at number twelve?"

"It'll be fine," Harry assured him patting him on the head. "We'll be able to do anything we want when he's not looking."

"Promise?" the heir asked giving Harry the most pitiful looking pair of puppy eyes he'd ever seen.

"Yes," Harry sighed with a grin. "I promise."

"Okay, we can head back then and pack."

"Oh yeah, we haven't done that yet."

(X)

And so the night had ended and soon enough Harry and Tom were placing their things in a bedroom in number twelve. This time they were given a large room to themselves, not like the room they'd been shoved in with Ron the year before, but an actual bedroom that was decently decorated. All of number twelve now had been re wallpapered and re carpeted, the effect being the entire place looking completely new and cheerful. The carpets all ranged in different colors, light blue, tans, royal purples and reds, the wooden floors no longer covered in scratches. The walls were white, no longer dusty or covered with cracks or hiding mold inside their interiors, new curtains covering every single window.

Every bedroom had also been redone, two of which were dressed up in the colors of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. They'd been done this way Harry understood, because most of the order members were from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

The room they were currently in had nothing to do with any of the houses though, was rather a light blue carpeted floor, white walls, and a red comforter, red curtains. It was large and clean, something Harry was not used to in number twelve and instead of being forced to look at pictures that didn't want them in the house at all, and they were met with paintings of landscapes.

"Great turn around," Tom said nodding towards the room. "We can do whatever we want and won't have a picture screaming otherwise at us."

"Dumbledore's coming tonight," Harry grinned wrapping his arms around Tom's neck. "He said he was delighted to spend the holiday here and couldn't wait to spend time with you."

"More like harass me," Tom corrected him.

Harry knew that the heir was probably right, but that was fine. One of family's main jobs seemed to be to harass other family members.

"Well at least we're here, finally. I guess they won't be watching us at Hogwarts after this, they're being reassigned."

"After that curse showed up?" the heir asked in disbelief. "Are they at least keeping Tonks in Hogsmeade?"

"I don't know, I forgot to ask," he admitted sheepishly. The heir tutted him and moved him towards the bed.

"We can ask later," the Slytherin said. "Oh, the others will be visiting in two days and we're going to the Burrow the day after that." He managed to get Harry pinned to the bed then, the heir of course on top.

"Great, what about Christmas eve?"

"We'll be here," Tom said kissing him gently on the lips. "Just the five of us."

"Six," Harry corrected him closing his eyes.

"Six?"

"Professor McGonagall said she'd be coming as well as Dumbledore's dance partner," Harry tried to say seriously, but started laughing, especially after seeing the look on Tom's face. "She is coming."

"Great, she'll be ordering me around the entire time," he said with a scowl climbing off the Gryffindor and sitting down beside him. "And you've completely ruined the mood with that information."

"It'll be fine. Oh that's right, we're going to Diagon Alley to get gifts tomorrow," Harry said as if it was just an afterthought. "What are you going to get Dumbledore?" He sat up realizing the heir was not going to try and push him down again and leaned his head on his shoulder.

"How should I know? He has everything he could possible need and the money to get anything else he wants."

"So? I'm sure you could think of something. He told me in my first year he likes socks."

"Socks?" Tom echoed the word staring at his boyfriend. "He has enough socks to cover the entire country of England."

"It was a joke. Why not make him a good luck potion?" Harry suggested. The Felix Felicis potion would be a great gift for anyone, at least if the bottle of luck really did what Slughorn claimed it to do.

"He might like that…"

"Who wouldn't? It seems to be one of the perfect gifts to give anyone. Can you buy it already made?"

"Maybe, probably Snape could get some from the Apothecary." He didn't look too sure of himself.

"I'm sure Snape will let you use his potion master's reputation to buy a gift for Dumbledore, it'll make him look good too."

"I guess so," the heir finally said lying back on the bed. This movement caused Harry to fall forward on top of his chest, but he made no attempts to move, rather closed his eyes and just smiled.

"So now that we're here and have Christmas decorating duty…"

"I completely forgot about that." His hand went to Harry's hair and he began playing with it gently. "Maybe we can skip out on it."

"I want to help, I wanted to help with the Great Hall, but got caught up in watching it snow."

"So if I just open our curtains you'll get hypnotized and stay in the bedroom?"

"Ha, ha," Harry scowled playfully. He got up crawling over to his boyfriend and bit down on the heir's neck. He let out a small hiss, but kept his hand entwined in Harry's hair.

"How dare you tempt me?" his free hand went to Harry's back and he pushed the Gryffindor down hard on top of him and held him there. "Do you honestly believe I'd let you get away with something like that?"

"Well I did think I'd get out of this room without being raped," Harry said allowing his body to rest. "I suppose both our ideas are warped."

"I think both of those points prove only your thinking is warped."

Harry thought for a moment, blinked, and nodded.

"Guess you're right. Look, if you let me go now oh mighty ruler we can fool around tonight, okay?"

"That would be great, but we have to get up early tomorrow," Tom reminded him nipping at his ear. "Remember, Diagon?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Tomorrow night," the heir suggested sadly. "We'll wait until then and have our fun when no one is looking."

"Tomorrow night it is," Harry agreed stealing one last kiss from the Slytherin before getting up and heading for the door. "Are you going to help decorate?"

"Like I'd actually leave you alone? I heard what happened when I turned my back at the party."

"Well no one told you to leave me as vampire bait."

They glared at each other for a few seconds before they broke eye contact and headed into the hallway instead. If they kept this up they'd be fighting nonstop for the rest of the holiday, which was something neither of them wanted.

(X)

"He's always late," Tom muttered glaring at the entrance to the dining room. It seems that number twelve had a formal eating area that was not inside the kitchen; Sirius had located it over the summer. "Well it's his fault he'll be eating cold food."

"Yes it will be," McGonagall said trying to remain calm; Harry could tell she was getting irritated by Tom's constant attacks at Dumbledore since he'd not yet arrived. Harry thought Tom should be glad that Dumbledore was going to be able to spend the holiday with them at all given that he was always so busy lately.

"Maybe he'll show up within the next few minutes," Harry offered trying to be helpful. He'd been doing everything he could to keep the heir calm, from kissing him at the start of his tangents, to biting him when no one else was looking, because it seemed like he was going to attack something. "Just give him some more time."

"He's four hours late, love," he said flatly glaring at Harry.

"Well, he's four hours late, but we're waiting to do the tree with him, right?" Harry asked laughing.

"I'm going to set the tree on fire," the Slytherin hissed.

"Try it, you'll be the next thing in the fire place," Harry warned getting looks from the other three people at the table.

"Why don't we try a civilized conversation," Lupin said pleasantly as if none of this fighting had been going on for the past three hours. "Does anyone have any suggestions for gifts tomorrow? Where we should have lunch at while we're in Diagon?"

"They have a new restaurant there, don't they?" Sirius asked. "I think we should try it."

"It's a pub, they don't serve food," Lupin said glaring. "How about the leaky cauldron?"

"I'm not eating in a place where the owner shares my horrible muggle name," Tom seethed. "I refuse."

"How about we make lunches here and just enjoy them at Diagon?" Harry tried.

"Great idea Harry!" Lupin said before anyone else could say otherwise. "Yes, perfect idea. It'll be like a picnic."

"What's a picnic?" came both Sirius and Tom's question. The two of them glared at each other for a second before looking back to Lupin.

"Or maybe we should just make sure we're back here for lunch," the werewolf sighed.

"No, we can eat out, just because these two are morons," Harry said finishing off his sentence with his own sigh. Harry had thought Hogwarts was bad, but this was nothing compared to it. Sirius and Tom had been randomly going at it the entire three hours since Dumbledore wasn't there to keep Sirius in line, and Tom was mad, because the headmaster hadn't showed up yet.

"You're right Harry. Why should our day be ruined, because Sirius and Tom seemed to have left their brains and sanity in another location? In fact, I think I'll shop with you tomorrow and those two can deal with each other."

"What?" The annoying duo screamed at the same time.

"You can't expect me to deal with this flea bag the entire day!"

"He's a serial killer pretending to be Harry's boyfriend!"

"I think I'm done eating Lupin," Harry said getting up and removing himself from the table. He took his plate and glass with so he could wash them and hoped McGonagall and Lupin would beat some sense into their "children". When he was finished washing his dinnerware he dried it and placed it into the cabinet before going into the sitting room where they had the undecorated Christmas tree. As soon as Dumbledore arrived they were going to start putting the ornaments on it, but for now it looked like a pine tree was growing out of number twelve's floor for some odd reason.

"It is a beautiful tree is it not Harry?"

Harry had to do a double take before reality sat in and he saw Dumbledore sitting on the couch in the sitting room across from the tree. He was eating exactly what they were in the dining room and looked quite pleased with himself.

"You're getting back at professor McGonagall and Tom," Harry said without a second thought. The headmaster laughed, but said nothing, instead taking another bite of the lamb chop covered in gravy. "It is a nice tree," he said finally taking a seat by the window. "It'll look even better once we've covered it with decorations."

"So it will Harry, so it will. I understand the black family has magnificent looking decorations for the holidays, but so far what I've seen of the house of late has only been cheerful."

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Sirius said Lupin and him went shopping."

"Good, it looks much better in these colors than the old ones. Perhaps then we should enjoy them." With a flick of his wand a bunch of the decorations they had set to the side flew into the air and began flying around the tree, but not settling down on it. The lights from the every lasting candles that Harry had begged them to use glistened and reflected off each causing a beautiful display of colors and rainbows to flash across the ceiling and wall.

"Wow," Harry laughed. He'd never been so enchanted by Christmas decorations in his life, but sitting here, the sun set, the snow coming down fast and hard outside made everything just right. He was finally at home with his family enjoying a real holiday with them. "That's great sir."

"Thank you Harry. Now for a bit of fun then?" He gave Harry a wink before the decorations went flying out of the room and into the dining hall, loud shouts and screams erupting instantly, Harry and Dumbledore laughing where they were. The shouting died down and in came storming four people, Tom covered in gravy, Sirius in corn. "Welcome!" The headmaster said cheerfully. "I do believe we're supposed to be decorating this most marvelous tree."

"Yes, we were waiting for you, how nice of you to come," Tom hissed in the snake language dangerously.

"I was held up with last minute adjustments at the school. Now that I am here though, let us enjoy our meal and then we shall decorate the tree."

"Which is exactly what we were doing until you stopped us!" Tom screamed.

"Tom." Still laughing Harry walked over to his boyfriend and licked some of the gravy off his cheek. "No harm done." The heir's face turned a bright red and suddenly he didn't seem to care that he was covered in gravy or anything for that matter.

"I'll clean the mess up," Dumbledore assured Lupin. "I do love these decorations though. Quite nice, very holidayish."

"Holidayish?" Tom voiced scowling again. "Old man-"

"Oh yes, you're still covered in food," he said happily using his wand to clean the heir up. He followed up by doing the same for Sirius and then brought the tree decorations back into the room, laying them gently down on the floor where they had been. "Have you been enjoying your stay thus far Minerva?"

"Very much so Albus, well I would more if Tom would stop being such a pain, but he's a growing boy," she mock sighed.

"Yes, that he is," Dumbledore agreed. "And so are a few others in the room."

"Oh yes," the transfiguration teacher agreed. She took a seat beside the headmaster smiling.

"Did you finish eating?" Harry asked his boyfriend. The heir nodded and he dragged him over to the chair he'd been sitting in, pushed him into it and climbed onto his lap.

"Okay, I'll be good," the heir said wrapping his arms around Harry.

"I thought you would be," he snickered snuggling up close to his boyfriend. "You can help me decorate our room after we finish with the tree."

"With what?" the heir asked his face turning a deeper shade of red.

"They have some extra Christmas decorations in the basement, we can put them in the bedroom," Harry explained.

"So, should we decorate the tree now then?" Dumbledore asked getting to his feet. "No better time than the present when it comes to making things better."

Harry climbed off the heir who looked extremely disappointed, and pulled out a strand of lights and started wrapping it around the tree.

"Guess we're doing things like the muggles this year," Lupin laughed taking the strand and helping Harry get it around the tree.

"Guess so," Sirius grinned. "Shouldn't be too hard."

"You'll screw it up anyway," Tom smirked.

"Oh how fun a holiday this is going to be!" Dumbledore beamed.

(TBC)

Okay like I said, trying to do a chapter a day here and managed two chapters at least. Took long enough eh? Anyway I need to get on it and attack the next chapter now.


	30. A Trip to Diagon

Ah, this is an amusing time.

Warnings:SHONEN AI HARRY AND TOM LOVE EACH OTHER and for some reason so do Lupin and Sirius.

Notes: (X)Is pov change and or time jump.

Ch, 30: A Trip to Diagon

Yawning Harry stretched in the bed, smiling when he felt the heir's arms around his waist. The night before had been wonderful the six of them joking and having fun as they decorated the tree, something a real family would do. They'd all gone to bed late, but it was only, because they were having so much fun. Even Tom got over his problems with Dumbledore not showing up on time after the headmaster handed him a Slytherin ornament to put on the tree.

The sun was now drifting in between the curtains though trying to consume the room in its heavenly light, but only managing to cover a part here or there. To Harry who was lying comfortably in a large bed, warm and safe it was quite a beautiful scene. The only thing that made him feel sad was that they would have to remove themselves from their bed in the next twenty minutes or so, so they could eat breakfast and head to Diagon Alley, which he honestly was regretting until Dumbledore promised to join them.

'If we're lucky maybe Dumbledore will take Tom and Sirius,' Harry thought to himself with a laugh. He knew he was going to have a heck of a time trying to hide his gift from the heir since he found it a must to look at his memories every five to ten minutes. Despite how annoying that could get though, Harry could honestly say at the moment he was deeply in love with his boyfriend. 'I'm so lucky,' he thought closing his eyes and wrapping his own arms around Tom. It seemed like nothing in the world could pull them apart right now.

When Harry opened his eyes again he wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the heir was now lying flat on his stomach, his shirt off, face in his pillow as if he was trying to suffocate himself. Stifling a laugh, he sat up so he could get a good look at the heir before he pounced on top of him. Tom let out a loud scream, before Harry's arm went around his neck and he started nuzzling him.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully placing a large kiss on his boyfriend's cheek. The heir seemed too shock to comprehend half of what was going on and merely stared back as if slowly trying to piece things together. When nothing seemed to come to him, he ran his hand through his hair, took a breath and locked Harry's gaze with his own.

"What in the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Harry asked removing himself from his boyfriend. "We need to get dressed, I'm sure we'll be leaving soon for Diagon Alley." He walked over to the closet and started going through the clothes in it. Muggle clothes would be fine, but his cloak was a lot warmer than anything else he owned and he had a good feeling that Diagon Alley would be cold with all the snow they had gotten the night before. With this in mind, he pulled out a plain black robe and changed into it making sure that he had warm pants and socks on underneath it. The cloak he took out afterwards and just dragged it behind him towards the door. "I'll meet you downstairs, don't go back to sleep."

"You sound like my mother," Tom groaned sitting up. "You can't even wait for me?"

"I'm going to make sure there's still some breakfast left." When Tom gave him a nod, he walked out of the room closing the door tightly behind him. He didn't want anyone else to see Tom while he was changing and even went as far as to remove his wand and lock it so there would be no mistakes. Satisfied with the handy work he walked down the hall towards the staircase. When he was at the top and saw that Sirius' mother's portrait was now removed he couldn't help smiling. Knowing that the old woman was gone for good made the house that much cheerier a place.

He stepped into the kitchen happy about everything in the world and ended up hugging both Sirius and Lupin before taking a seat at the table. Laid out before him was a breakfast comparable to that severed in the Great Hall, complete with sausage links, bacon, eggs, blueberry muffins, pumpkin juice, apple cider, and pancakes.

"Tom will be down in a minute," Harry told them scooping a few eggs into his plate. He added a few pieces of sausage and bacon to his collection before he began eating it. By the time, he'd finished his first egg the heir had come down in a green robe still looking quite disheveled. His hair was messed up and it looked to Harry like he hadn't slept at all the night before, but he knew that wasn't true, he'd watched him sleep from time to time last night.

"Morning," the heir yawned grabbing a piece of toast from the top of a toast pile and kissing Harry. Harry hadn't even noticed that there was toast when he came down. He shoved the piece of bread into his mouth and sat down beside Harry, his face falling onto the table seconds later.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked staring at his boyfriend. He hadn't seen the heir this tired since the pendent had been damaged and it needed to be repaired. That in mind Harry pulled the necklace out from under is robes and made sure there were no strange cracks or scratches on the object. Deciding there was nothing wrong he dropped the necklace back into his robes and pulled Tom back up. "Tom, what's wrong?"

"Just tired," he mumbled the piece of toast falling out of his mouth onto the table. To Harry he honestly looked sick, which was odd, because the night before he'd been completely fine.

"Maybe we should stay here, you guys can go shopping." He pulled the heir to his feet, the Slytherin's weight shifting and almost causing the both of them to tumble over. Harry managed to get them balanced at the last minute and they somehow remained upright. "I don't think him and walking is such a good idea today."

"No, I would have to agree," Lupin, said a frown crossing his face. "I'll help you take him back upstairs; we'll bring you up some soup in a few minutes." That said he walked over to where Harry was doing his best to hold Tom up and helped the two back upstairs. Once they were back in the room, Tom under the covers, Lupin put his hand to his forehead. "He might have a fever. I'll bring my wand up and check when I bring up the soup."

"I can't believe you're sick," Harry laughed. He wasn't glad that his boyfriend was sick, but he found it amusing that the Slytherin had gone from completely healthy to sick in a matter of a day.

"I'm just tired," Tom growled, but his raised hand didn't even make it to Harry's arm. Instead, it fell back down beside him harmlessly where he stared at it for a second before looking back at Harry angrily.

"You slept all night," Harry explained. He put his hand on Tom's forehead and pushed up his bangs gently. He expected them to be covered in sweat, but they were actually dry, the heir's forehead not even slightly warm. "Huh?" Harry didn't think that wizard's and muggles got sick differently, he'd had a few fevers himself when he was sick. "What did you do after I fell asleep?"

"I went to Dumbledore's room. We were up talking half the night."

"So what you really need is an energy boost." The heir nodded and Harry stood up smirking. "Okay, I'll get you something to do that and you tell me about some of the talking you had with your father. It must have been real important if you ditched me so easily last night."

"I'd rather die," the Slytherin hissed.

"Fine, I'll go shopping. You stay here with Kreacher all day," Harry said simply. He made a mock move toward the door, which of course worked.

"That's not fair!" Tom screamed sitting up. "You can't!"

"Looks like you have enough energy to do what you want," Harry said tutting his boyfriend. "I shouldn't have to do a thing if you've the energy to come anyway."

"Damn you!" the heir managed to keep a glare going for half a minute before he collapsed back down onto the bed. Harry thought about it for a moment then before climbing back onto the bed. Despite feeling slightly angry that Tom had left him in the middle of the night, he couldn't just leave him the way he was. He kissed him on the cheek before pulling out the necklace and concentrating. If he did things right he'd be able to transfer some of his energy to Tom so they could both function and enjoy themselves in Diagon Alley. This took a few attempts, but Harry finally managed to get the energy balanced out enough and sent it to the heir. The change was instant; the Slytherin's face gaining color, his eyes looking livelier.

"Better?"

"Much," the heir smirked getting up and locking Harry's lips with his own. When they finally broke apart, Lupin was walking into the room balancing three different kinds of potions in two of his hands.

"What happened?" Lupin asked staring at the two. He obviously hadn't expected to see Tom up and about so soon.

"Nothing, I fixed the problem," Harry grinned. "He'll be ready in a minute."

"Good," Lupin said cheerfully. He walked back out still somehow balancing the three potions.

"Don't make us wait too long," Harry warned walking out of the room. Instead of walking off however, he remained in front of the door this time to make sure the heir wouldn't take too long. He started studying the area around him trying to see all the things Sirius and Lupin had changed since he'd been gone. Beyond the carpet and paint, they'd stained the railings and changed all the paintings in the hall. At the moment, the entire place was decorated for Christmas, the everlasting candles floating around, mistletoes randomly floating above some of the bedroom doors, and garland wrapped around the banister.

"What are you doing?"

Harry jumped turning around. He hadn't heard the door open, but seeing the heir standing behind him just made him smile. He threw his arms around the heir tightly pulling him close.

"You look great."

"Why do I get this reaction with an ordinary robe, but you blow me off when I'm wearing my silk one?"

"I didn't blow you off, but these robes lately cling just right," he said his face turning bright red. How the robes suddenly seemed to do this was beyond the Gryffindor, but he liked it.

"So in other words-"

"It's the different type of robes," Harry said finally realizing what it was. He was used to seeing the heir in school robes and muggle clothing, but seeing him in normal robes that clung to his body completely and utterly perfectly….

"So what, should I stop wearing school robes?" Tom asked grinning. "I'll be happy to-"

"As hot as you look right now, if you did this during school, I'd never learn a thing."

"Can't have that I guess," Tom sighed. "But after the tests are over…" He let the words hang in the air, his hungry look giving the Gryffindor all the information he needed.

"Maybe," Harry said lowering the collar on Tom's robe and kissing him gently. Tom seemed pleased with this and took Harry's hand into his own, the two walking down the steps. "Now if you just stay this way we won't have to worry about any fights in Diagon."

"You know that isn't happening."

"I know, but I like to pretend," Harry sighed. He knew the minute Sirius and Tom were together they'd start with comments that would eventually lead them in to a fight. The couple headed down the stairs and waited once they were in front of the fireplace. They would be walking to Diagon Alley of course, number twelve wasn't hooked up to the floo powder network, but it was too boring to remain on the steps. Harry expected only a few minute wait, but it ended up taking much longer than that. So long, in fact that the couple was able to get in two more hours of sleep on the couch before Lupin shook them awake.

"Sorry it took so long," Lupin smiled. "We had to wait for Dumbledore to get back."

"Its fine," Harry yawned getting up. Tom looked annoyed that Harry was abandoning him on the couch. "Come on." He held his hand out to his boyfriend as he had when he was in bed, but this time the heir grabbed it and pulled himself up. One of the few benefits of everyone taking so long, they were now both well rested. 'Better for tonight,' Harry mentally grinned.

"I'll be sure not to over exert myself."

"Yeah, don't be too lazy," Harry, warned.

Soon enough all of them were in Diagon Alley, the entire place decked out for the holiday. Wreaths adorned every lamppost, garland by the tons strung and clung from every available location up and down the street. The snow even seemed to understand how important it was to be Christmassy and drifted down slowly in large flakes.

"I've never been here around Christmas," Harry said his voice filled with awe. The entire thing seemed breath taking to him and he was glad they'd be spending their entire day there.

"I forgot you guys mostly just put in orders, this should be fun then," Lupin said. He seemed the most cheerful out of everyone else in the group. At first Harry wasn't too sure why, but as they talked about what shops they all needed to visit, everyone laughing, Sirius and Tom randomly bickering, it all stated to become clear. Lupin, Harry noticed, was constantly grabbing Sirius' arm and tugging on him playfully as he pointed things out. Sirius looked slightly annoyed, but Harry understood why Lupin was doing this. Just last year they'd all been enjoying themselves as well during this time only to have Sirius taken away from them a few months later. With that thought in mind, it was completely understandable why the werewolf was being so protective.

'Are you alright?' came the mental question.

'Yeah,' Harry said leaning against his boyfriend. 'Everyone's so happy, it's nice.'

"So how are we breaking this down?" McGonagall asked getting everyone to go silent. "Groups of two or three?"

"Two," Lupin agreed with a nod. "Sirius goes with Dumbledore, Harry you can go with Minvera, and Tom can come with me."

"What?" Tom asked outraged.

"It makes it easier to purchase gifts this way, especially since Sirius has a big mouth, but Dumbledore is good at being secretive."

Glaring Sirius and Tom moved towards their respected partners muttering.

"Be good," Harry, warned giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at lunch."

"At twelve thirty we'll meet in front of Eyeleops."

Everything decided now the group broke up and started on their quest of obtaining gifts. Harry had to admit he felt a bit nervous being in Diagon Alley with McGonagall. He'd never been anywhere with his head of house besides number twelve and Hogwarts. The Transfiguration teacher seemed to realize this, because she kept eyeing Harry who hadn't said a word since they'd gone off on their own.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just really don't know what to talk about." Harry shifted uneasily, his eyes falling onto the bookshop.

"Do you need to get something from Flourish and Botts?" Harry nodded. "Well, let's go then. And you know Harry, you're dating my son, best we learn to get along with one another."

"It's not that I don't like you," Harry said quickly. "I just barely know you. We've never really talked casually," he tried to explain. He didn't want to offend McGonagall in any way, but the honest truth was he had no idea what was the proper thing to say to a teacher outside of school.

"Well, I can't say that I really know what to talk about either," she admitted with a smile.

They looked at each other a moment before walking into the bookstore neither of them saying a word.

"I need to figure out which book I should get for Hermione," Harry said a minute later. He was looking at a large bookshelf filled with so many books he wasn't completely sure where to begin.

"She's been having a slight issue with Arithmancy."

"Really?" Harry asked in shock. For some reason he just couldn't believe that, Hermione was having any problems with any class. It just didn't seem possible. To him, Hermione having problems in any kind of class was almost like finding Tom in a pink dress while watching soap operas.

"Yes, I believe it was about translating runes that were constructed using the Chaldean method and translate them by using the Agrippan method….here." McGonagall grabbed a book from the top shelf and handed it to Harry. "This should do her a world of good."

"Thanks Professor McGonagall." Harry knew there was a one gift per person limit, but where Tom was involved he couldn't help himself. "What about Tom?"

"Do you think he'd be satisfied with a book?"

"Of course not," Harry said scanning the nearest bookshelf. "No, I'll just have to get him a book and something else."

"Always breaking the rules," McGonagall smiled. "Why not get something to help you both with charms?" She grabbed a black leather bound book called _Advance Charms and where to use them._ Harry flipped through a few of the pages and seeing some of the more interesting spells agreed.

"Thanks, this one should be really good." They purchased their items, McGonagall getting a few books herself and then they headed to the next shop.

(X)

"Why did you split us up? I thought you didn't care that Harry and I were dating," Tom said acidly. He couldn't believe he wasn't doing all of this stuff with Harry. He didn't have anything against Lupin, but he'd much rather have Harry beside him.

"Well, if you're with Harry, no matter who Sirius is with he'll spend the entire time here stalking you two, besides. If you were with Harry you'd both know what you were buying each other. That kind of makes this entire trip pointless doesn't it?"

"I guess so," Tom admitted knowing very well the werewolf was right. Still, being holed up in the Apothecary trying to find out whether or not he could purchase some Felix potion for Dumbledore with Lupin was not his idea of fun. He hadn't realized at the time Harry and he had been talking about it that Snape wasn't going to be shopping with them. Still, Lupin did seem to know the shop owner well enough, who seemed more than happy to supply the werewolf with such a rare potion and even at a special cheap price.

"You realize he wants you in bed right?" Tom asked once they were heading out the door. He shoved the potion, Draco, and Snape's gifts into the bag they were carrying for just that reason.

"Y, yes!" Lupin said his face now bright red. "Don't tell Sirius. This is the only place I can go and get the ingredients for my condition."

"Condition? Stop acting like you're diseased." The heir looked around and decided to head to a shop that was selling Defense magic items.

"It is," he glared at Tom following him into the store.

"It's not," Tom, countered. He started looking at the many different objects unsure of which one to purchase.

"How can you say it's not?"

"It's just a part of who you are." He grabbed a ring, examined it and put it back. He needed something that the idiot would wear and more importantly something, others wouldn't give a second thought about. The shop didn't have anything like that though and he decided to just go another route, because he wasn't about to get some faulty gift that'd get the user killed.

"I wasn't born this way-"

"Let me explain something," Tom said turning on Lupin his arms folded across his chest. "Despite Voldemort having taken my necklace, Dumbledore did get it back." He closed his eyes trying to recall everything that he could remember and use in this conversation. "I was back in the school by the time you showed up. You were bit young; do you even remember not being a werewolf?"

"Well…not really-"

"Then it's just you right? You just change once a month, big deal. Your idiot lover can change with you; don't try to get out of it. I remember the talk you had with Dumbledore, because you were caught sleeping with Sirius near the Forbidden Forest in your-"

"Why do you know all that?"

"Because the necklace was back in the headmaster's office a few years before you were admitted," Tom smirked. "I was present during all your lectures with the headmaster."

"You're dangerous."

"It's not like I was going anywhere," Tom said dropping his arms and heading for the door. "I couldn't do anything until Harry's fourth year."

"Fourth year?" The werewolf asked curiously. "Why didn't you show up until his fifth year then? He could have really used your help during his fourth year!"

"I did!" Tom growled. "I didn't just sit back I…" he realized he'd been tricked and narrowed his eyes. "You are not to tell anyone, I'll kill Sirius in front of you and then take you out with a dementor!"

Lupin stared at him, obviously shocked by this sudden declaration. Tom had to admit he was a bit surprised himself; he hadn't lashed out at anyone like that in a while.

"To-"

"I have to go find Harry," he blurted out nearly running down the street before turning down an alleyway. He didn't really understand why he was so angry, Harry was going to end up learning the truth soon anyway. Still, he kept his secrets closely guarded and for Lupin to just get past his defenses so easily bugged him.

Tom wasn't sure how long he walked around but it seemed hours to him by the time he finally spotted Harry. He knew his boyfriend was going to be angered with him as well. The Gryffindor didn't take lightly to those who threatened his family, not that the heir was really any different.

"I lashed out at Lupin and ran," Tom said throwing his arms around Harry's neck from behind. He figured Harry would find out soon enough and best to tell him himself rather than let Lupin or Sirius explain it to him.

"Why did you lash out at Lupin?" Harry asked with a sigh. Tom couldn't tell if he was annoyed or angry.

"He got too personal," the heir said without a second thought. "And after it all happened I had to see you," he added with a pout and began nuzzling the Gryffindor.

"Did you at least apologize?" Harry asked managing to turn around and get a good look at the heir.

"…No?"

"Why?" Harry asked. Tom was sure that he was annoyed now not angry.

"Should I just go and stay with Draco the rest of the holiday?"

"No," Harry sighed again. "Let's just go find him and you can apologize."

(X)

Despite the original plan that had been set up, Harry, Tom, McGonagall, and Lupin ended up shopping together. This was mostly due to the fact that Tom refused to budge from Harry's arm. The Gryffindor had done his best to try to remove him, but he wouldn't let up a bit. Even when lunch came around and they were all sitting together at one of the inn's restaurants, Tom was using one hand to stay attached to Harry, the other to eat. Harry also noticed that Lupin did not seem physically harmed in any way, but was looking at Tom nervously every few minutes.

'What exactly did you do to him?' Harry finally asked. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know or not, but thought having the facts would make things easier if the situation somehow got worse.

'Nothing I'm about to repeat,' the heir replied absently. He took a bite of his sandwich as if nothing was wrong.

'Tom…'

"So has anyone managed to finish their list?" Dumbledore asked. He'd already finished his sandwich and was looking around the tavern. Despite the cheeriness outside the inn, the tavern itself was easily making them depressed. There was only one decoration through the entire place, a wreath hanging from the stairs and Harry would bet anyone that it was at least twenty years old and if that wasn't bad enough, the place didn't look like it'd been cleaned in ages.

"I have," Lupin said. "I managed to finish before catching up with everyone else."

"I've only one more gift to get," McGonagall said pleasantly. She seemed quite pleased with herself.

"Two more," Harry added.

"I've only bought two things," Tom said. Everyone turned their attention to him and stared. "What?"

"What have you been doing this whole time?" Sirius demanded.

"For the most part? Remaining attached to Harry," he said truthfully. "I've had my mind on other things than shopping."

"Well how about getting it back to what you were supposed to be doing in the first place?" Sirius asked twitching.

"Because that'd make you happy," the heir said simply. "And we all know we can't have that."

Sirius moved to stand up, but Lupin grabbed him and McGonagall smacked Tom in the back of the head before he could say another word.

"Must I remind you we are in a public place and you'd do well to act decently while accompanying your father and me," she said coldly. Tom instantly looked away showing no more signs of rebellion. "Remus, why don't you take Harry to purchase his last two items along with Sirius, Albus and I will make sure Aderes finishes his shopping."

"That sounds like a good idea. We'll get the last of the gifts and then head home so we can start working on the menu for tomorrow's dinner and Christmas."

"Wonderful," the head of Gryffindor said smiling.

When they were all finished eating, they divided up into the two groups. Harry warned his boyfriend not to do anything stupid and left with Sirius and Lupin praying that Diagon would not be going up in flames due to the Slytherin anytime soon.

"He won't do anything stupid," Dumbledore winked at him as they were going their separate ways. Harry could only hope.

(X)

"How could you let something like that slip?" McGonagall asked the second the others were out of earshot.

"He waited until I had my defenses down and caught me off guard," Tom growled. He knew this talk was coming. The three of them had sworn themselves to secrecy as far as what had happened in the past and yet it seemed like the past was rearing its ugly head every day of the heir's life. "Harry's starting to see glimpses of what happened too. He collapsed during the Quidditch game because of it."

"I had a feeling that was what happened," Dumbledore joined in. "There is no stronger spell beyond this one however unless you intend to completely remove it."

"I promised to tell Harry when he was ready what happened," Tom, said closing his eyes. "He deserves to know, but slowly…" He coughed nervously beginning to walk faster. "Besides, I'd never forgive myself if his fourth year was a complete blur to him."

"Aderes, his fourth year is a complete blur. He's forgotten as has most of the wizarding world, just about everything that went on."

"So he has," the heir said softly. "But you were the one who told me it would be better this way."

"And so it will be. Instead of knowing you for only a year now he has for three, two of which he can remember clearly," the headmaster said.

"And one that he'll begin to remember soon enough," McGonagall pointed out. "Don't you think he's going to feel cheated?"

"Oh I do believe he will, at first. In the end I believe Harry will be quite fine with the results."

"I hope so," the heir muttered. He couldn't take much more of these randomly ups and downs that was his relationship.

(X)

Two hours had already passed since they'd spilt up at Diagon Alley, Harry, Sirius, and Lupin had already made it back home. Sirius and Lupin were in the kitchen trying to decide what side dishes they should have for dinner that night, while Harry remained in the living room trying to see if he could get a television to work. It hadn't occurred to him before, but once he'd found the thing at Diagon he'd purchased it hoping they could watch some kind of Christmas special on it. It wasn't that big of a deal really, but he remembered seeing a few when he was younger and wanted to show Tom since he was sure he'd never see any himself.

"Maybe if I just connect this to that," he muttered plugging a red cord into the yellow area, The TV lit up before flames began forming on the top of it. "Or maybe this was just a bad joke," he scowled taking his wand out and extinguishing the flames. "When are they coming back?" he groaned walking over to the couch and plopping down on it. The only reason he'd bought the thing was so he'd have something to amuse himself with until Tom came back. Sure, he wanted his boyfriend to see one of the random muggle Christmas shows, but what he really wanted was something to take the boredom away. He was not used to being alone, there was always someone around him, usually Tom, but sitting here by himself in the living room was driving him nuts. "I hope he's enjoying himself," he muttered.

(TBC)

Okay, took a bit of time to finish, but it's done. Now you guys got a wonderful big hint as to what's coming later on. Yes, the hint was in reference to A Wizard's Past, which will be book 4 and what I'll be writing once Redemption is over with. After that's over I'll do book 7. Well enjoy the chapter, only 5 more to go right? Lol


	31. A Visit to the Burrow

Okay and here's chapter 3... I wish I wouldn't have gotten so lazy and would have just done this one after another like I was going to, but life doesn't seem to want me to do that anymore, at least not right now.

Warnings: It's shonen ai, slash, yaoi , whatever.

Notes: (X) is POV change and or time jump.

Chapter 31: A Visit to the Burrow

"Harry, dinner time."

Said boy slowly opened his eyes staring up at Lupin. He'd expected to see Tom somewhere as well, but to the Gryffindor's dismay he was still absent from the living room. Meanwhile, the TV was burnt to a crisp. From the looks of it now, he was sure Lupin or Sirius had taken another crack at it and nearly burnt the house down at some point.

"Where's Tom?" he asked. He sat up, stretching before getting to his feet. "What time is it?" He could tell from the nearby window that it was already dark outside, which wasn't making his stomach feel too good. The heir was always back before it was time to go to bed, so at the least he still had some hope that his boyfriend was okay.

"It's about eight and they haven't come back yet," the werewolf said. He didn't sound at all worried, but Harry was. Since when did Tom ever let anyone keep him away from Harry for long periods of time? "I'm sure they'll be back soon, so why don't we have dinner while we wait?"

"Yeah," Harry said, heading for the table. Despite his words, he was still worried. He decided to try and use the mental speech, but the second he tried his thoughts slammed into a mental brick wall leaving Harry no choice but to drop the attempt. This of course only made the Gryffindor worry more. Sure his boyfriend was constantly blocking their bond, but why now? Couldn't he at least tell the Gryffindor what was taking so long?

"Dumbledore is always late," Sirius said when Harry and Lupin were seated. "I'm sure he's the cause of them being so late right now."

"But he was finished shopping, wasn't he?" Harry had thought that since Dumbledore had asked if anyone else had finished shopping, he had been as well, but perhaps the headmaster hadn't even started himself since Sirius was with him. Harry couldn't really blame him there; his godfather did have a big mouth when it came to gifts.

"What Tom was looking for wasn't in Diagon, Dumbledore probably took him somewhere else to get it," Lupin explained.

"What was he looking for?" Harry asked curiously. He couldn't think of a single thing that Tom would want to buy that wasn't in Diagon or Knockturn Alley.

"Sorry Harry, if I told you it'd ruin the surprise," he smiled.

"R-right." Harry returned the smile, grabbing a piece of baked chicken and putting it on his plate. If this had to do with Harry's own gift, that would easily explain why the mental barrier was up; it wouldn't be good for Harry to figure out what his gift was so soon. After all, if there was one thing the heir was protective of, it was his surprises, be they good or bad, for Harry. Feeling slightly relieved now, Harry dug into his dinner.

The three of them talked of course, but not about much. The biggest subjects were Quidditch and what they'd be doing the next day at the Burrow. Harry also found out that later on Christmas day, everyone from the Burrow would be coming to Number Twelve because it had more room.

And so dinner finished without a hitch. The only problem was that there were still two Gryffindors and a Slytherin missing from home. Even so, Harry did his best to ignore his fears. Dumbledore and Tom were adept at fighting and could take down even Voldemort if they had to, so there was really no need to worry. To get his mind off of what the other three could possibly be doing, he snatched the dirty dishes away from his godfather and began washing them by hand.

"You don't have to do that, Harry," he said nervously. "I can easily clean them with my wand…"

"Its fine, I need something to do before I throw that muggle box out the window," he said cheerfully. Sirius made an odd noise and exited the kitchen, leaving him alone. And so another hour passed, the clock striking nine, which by this point Harry had finished washing all the dishes and only broke two of them. He thought that this was a good deal because if he'd really let his stress get the best of him, all of them would be broken.

Not wanting to cause the other two to worry however he pulled his wand out, glad to finally have two other wizards' around him so the ministry of magic couldn't pin point the magic on him, and fixed both plates. He put them away after shoving his wand into his pocket and walked out of the kitchen. Sirius and Lupin were both in the living room examining the TV, neither of which seemed to know what to do with it.

"It looks busted, Harry," Lupin said knocking on the top of it gently only for the screen to collapse in on itself. Lupin instantly backed away, his hands up in the air.

"I know, I think it was broken before we got it, probably jinxed so it would just scare whoever bought it," Harry said laughing slightly. The look on Lupin's face at the moment was priceless.

"Oh, good," the werewolf said with a laugh. "I'm glad I didn't do that."

"You barely touched it," Sirius said, grabbing one of Lupin's hands that were in the air. "Stop thinking you're going to destroy anything you touch."

"Isn't that what tends to happen, though?" Lupin asked, the two obviously forgetting Harry was with them. They locked lips then, neither of them giving the young Gryffindor any mind.

"You're insane! Crazy! You old goat, go back to the mountains where you came from and burn!"

"Tom's home," Harry said heading for the entrance. Tom came stomping passed him, then stopped turned around and latched onto Harry with such force that the two of them ended up on the floor. Harry managed to not hit his head and pushed himself up so his back was against the wall while Tom kept throwing insults towards Dumbledore.

"I'll never trust you again!"

"We made it back," the headmaster said happily. He walked passed Harry and Tom, smiling cheerfully, and took a seat on the couch.

"Where have you been?" Harry decided to ask. The heir was finally home, but Harry still wasn't getting any of his boyfriend's attention and right now that didn't seem right to him. "I tried the mind speech, but it was blocked."

"Of course it was blocked, this old-"

"One more insult out of you, Aderes, and I'll be sending you back to the necklace for a year," McGonagall warned passing the two. She herself looked quite annoyed, her hair was messed up, and Harry noticed some rips in her robes towards the bottom.

"Would you be willing to go to our room?" the heir asked.

"Of course," Harry said quickly. He wanted to know what in the world had happened once they'd split up and nearly dragged the heir up the steps so he could hear the story as soon as possible. "Well? Tell me, my afternoon was boring," Harry said shutting the door to their room and sitting down on the bed.

"I was trying to find a decent object to charm, but couldn't in Diagon. So that old man dragged me to some kind of muggle store. We spent five hours there searching and finally I just left. They didn't have any muggle money on them to begin with anyway! He got us lost on the way back, and around that time I was ready to scream."

Harry could only stare at his boyfriend for a few minutes before he burst into a fit of laughter. Despite Tom's rage and how worried he'd been, all he could do was laugh at the reality.

"I'm sorry," he said wiping away some tears from his eyes. "I can't believe you got lost in a muggle store-"

"THEY'RE HUGE!"

"Still!" Tom took a seat besides Harry who took a few minutes before he could finally calm down. "Are you hungry?"

"We got something to eat before we came back." Closing his eyes the heir lied down, his hand wrapping around Harry's wrist. "I'm tired."

"Well you were dragged across most of London." Harry squeezed the heir's hand tightly. "We're going to the Burrow tomorrow morning. I think we should just get some sleep."

"Yeah," Tom sighed. "Sleep sounds good… I'll just jump you tomorrow or something."

"We'll see." Harry cuddled up beside him taking Tom's free arm and putting it around his own waist. "I'm used to it."

"It's fine."

(X)

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Of course, or are you too good to accept my gift?"

"N-no! I just… It had to be expensive."

"Not for me…"

(X)

Harry sat up blinking; his eyes out of focus until he realized Tom had removed his glasses. He slipped them on and gave the room another look around, nothing. It was still just the two of them and they were here at Number Twelve, not Hogwarts.

"Must have been a dream," he muttered, removing his glasses and lying back down. He couldn't remember having that conversation with Tom, so it was no doubt just sparked by them having gone Christmas shopping the day before. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to drift back off feeling completely safe in Tom's presence.

(X)

The next morning was for the most part a complete blur, and before Harry knew it, the six of them were standing in front of the Burrow's front door, waiting for it to be answered. Harry still felt dead tired, he hadn't got much sleep after the dream he'd had, and by the look on Tom's face, it didn't seem like he had either.

"Remus! Sirius, Dumbledore, Minerva! Come in and you, Aderes, Harry dear."

Harry couldn't help glaring at the tone Mrs. Weasley used when she said "Aderes". It seemed to Harry that she disliked everyone he really cared for anymore.

"Thank you Molly," Lupin said ushering everyone in.

'Maybe she's jealous?' Tom asked with a mental smirk.

'You'd think she had enough kids,' Harry replied tiredly.

"There you are! Come here!"

Before Harry could even register what was going on, he saw Tom vanish up the steps, Draco dragging him. The Gryffindor honestly didn't want to know what they were going to do to his boyfriend, so instead decided to remain downstairs. All of the grownups were talking in the kitchen, so Harry went into the sitting room. Unlike Number Twelve that was decorated in a normal Christmas style, the Burrow looked more like a paper chain factory had exploded inside of it. This didn't make the place look bad, just not the easiest to maneuver in. When he finally managed to get to the couch, he sat down on it a bit surprised to see Sirius coming in.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked immediately.

"Nah, Remus is having fun talking to everyone and I haven't gotten to really talk to you alone lately." He gave Harry a large grin and sat down beside him. "How's your holiday so far?"

"Wonderful," Harry said happily. Unlike Sirius and Lupin's stalking at Hogwarts, the time they were spending together at Number Twelve was like a real family. They had meals together and did things with one another, they even joked around at night before bed just so they could have some more family time. "And I mean it. This is the best Christmas holiday I've ever had. You and Lupin are really making it great."

"Good!" Sirius threw his arm around Harry's shoulder, hugging him tightly. "So you'll be coming back this summer after your stay with the Dursleys'?"

"I have to go back?" Harry asked, crestfallen. He was hoping he could just go straight back to Number Twelve.

"Just until your birthday. Once you're seventeen, we'll come and get you, bring you straight to Number Twelve."

"I don't want to go back," he muttered. "I guess if I have to, though." He muttered a curse, wishing he'd never been sent to the Dursleys in the first place. Why couldn't Dumbledore have just left him with Sirius and Lupin from the beginning?

"Well nothing to worry about, just a few weeks… And that thing will be with you."

"Tom is not a thing," Harry sighed.

"Of course he's not."

"I don't go around calling Lupin a thing," Harry pointed out, hoping this would make his godfather think before insulting Tom anymore.

"Of course not, Lupin has a brain!"

"Forget it," Harry sighed. It was obvious to him already that Sirius was going to give no leeway on his insults to his boyfriend. So instead, the two managed to start a decent conversation after that. They stayed clear of Tom as a subject and Harry was able to tell him of all his thoughts about Slughorn and how annoying his meetings were. They went from one topic to another until they were laughing about how horrible the new Ministry of Magic was. Halfway through the insults Lupin came in and dragged Sirius off to help with dinner.

Harry looked to the clock and was about to stand up when Fred and George came walking in. They were both covered in snow and looked quite cheerful, especially after spotting Harry on their couch.

"Harry! Didn't think we'd make it back in time to see you!" Fred grinned. "What've you been up to? Destroying Filch's sanity, I hope?"

"I'm here till dinner," Harry laughed. "And yeah, you could say that. He won't be happy for a while that's for sure."

"Good! Good! Listen Harry, we've been doing so well lately with that Defense line and that necklace we helped you with to give to Tom? They're selling high too. Things that ward off unforgivables are a real high seller, and that's why we want your help," Fred said, sitting beside him. "Will you help us then?"

"Umm... Sure, what am I helping with?" Harry asked nervously. He was glad that his idea of making Tom a necklace that would stop all unforgivables from touching him was such a big hit. He doubted the heir even realized what the necklace was for though.

"Well, you're much better at these things than we are," George started.

"Much stronger…" Fred agreed.

"You want me to cast unforgivable and make sure they won't break," Harry said, catching on instantly.

"Oh wow, Tom's got you sharp hasn't he? Well how about it?" Fred asked.

"I don't know, isn't that still against the law?"

"Harry! Since when do any of us follow the rules? This is to help save people and you'd just be casting them on us, of course, we won't be using the killing curse. We'll practice that on a dummy and see if it blows up or something," Fred said as if none of these things were at all dangerous. "So?"

"I guess I could… We can't let anyone know, though."

"Of course not! We can do it tomorrow at Number Twelve!" George said. Both twins took one of his free hands and shook them tightly.

"Glad you're willing to help us!" Fred grinned. "Don't worry, we've been casting them all week on each other, no effects, but we need someone stronger."

"Why don't you ask Tom then?" Harry asked. If any of them could cast a strong unforgivable, it would no doubt be his boyfriend.

"He's next. We're asking you first, because if there are any flaws in this design you'll stop and not do as much damage; his first attack might kill us," Fred said.

Harry wanted to deny all of that, say that his boyfriend was nothing like that, but despite his wishes he knew it was true. Tom was very adept at casting unforgivables; it was just something that was in his blood.

"Okay, I hope it works." They said their goodbyes and Harry began making his way up the stairs to Ron's bedroom where he was sure everyone else was. For some reason he didn't feel half as guilty as he thought he should about agreeing to help Fred and George, maybe because in the end it was to help people, not cause harm. The only way to make sure the necklaces worked would be to test them; it wouldn't be right to just hope and then sell them just to have people die. "What we really need to do, though, is make sure that death eaters can't purchase them," Harry muttered.

Using the mental bond Harry scanned the room making sure he wasn't walking into something he wanted no part of. In the end it seemed that they were all just talking and so he went in without worry.

"My sweet love!" Tom shouted, throwing his arms around Harry's neck and scaring him to death. "You used our bond to make sure the location was safe! You're finally thinking!"

"You're not right," Harry laughed once he'd caught his breath. "So how's everyone been doing?"

"Good," Hermione said brightly. She was holding onto Krum's hand tightly and smiling. "Krum is thinking about transferring to Hogwarts."

"That'd be good," Harry agreed. "We can always use another person to help us."

"Aderes and I are the only ones needed," Draco said arrogantly. "We can handle anything thrown our way."

"Oh, you mean like last time when the death eaters got into the school, because of you two and we all nearly died?" Harry asked skeptically. "Yeah, we really trust you two."

"You can be a real prat sometimes, you know that?" Tom asked darkly.

"Oh yes, I believe I've learned that from you," Harry smirked. He moved away from the heir, taking a seat on one of the empty beds. "What have you guys been doing up here the whole time anyway? I've talked to so many people downstairs and not one of you came to get me."

"I needed Aderes to tell me if this potion was coming out right," Draco said. "The book says it should turn red on the sixth day, but it never mentioned what shade of red."

"And is it?" Harry asked curiously. Ever since he'd been using the prince's book for potions he was getting a slight interest in the subject.

"Seems to be," Tom said with a small shrug.

"Better hope you checked it right, wouldn't want it to poison someone," Harry said staring up at the ceiling. He knew what tended to happen when his boyfriend made mistakes. It seemed Tom also realized what could possibly happen if he made a mistake and was now removing the potion from Ron's closet and doing a double check. "Makes you feel so safe, doesn't it?"

"Yes, very," Krum said, shaking his head.

Harry couldn't help drifting off at random during the others' conversations. Somehow, their thoughts meant nothing to him when compared to what he'd just agreed to do with Fred and George, and yet he still couldn't understand why he'd agreed to do it with such ease. Casting an unforgivable one way or another was against the law.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked, getting right in Harry's face.

Harry shook his head, made sure he was paying attention to his boyfriend, his mind completely off the subject of unforgivable curses.

"Yeah, fine," he grinned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Despite the fact you haven't answered any of the ten questions we asked you? Nothing," Hermione said rolling her eyes.

"Ten?" Harry repeated the number his face red. He hadn't heard a single word and honestly felt bad about that. They were supposed to all be enjoying each other's company and having fun, yet he'd easily blown them off, wrapped up in his own little world. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore anyone."

"You better not have," Tom said irritably. "I don't want to have to stay at the Burrow for the rest of my holiday." The words were more of a warning than anything and all Harry could bring himself to do was shrug. What else could he tell his boyfriend? He had no intentions of letting him know about this deal with the twins, especially not when they might make Tom cast some of those spells.

"Well if you end up here for the rest of the holiday it's not my fault, it's yours for getting lost on the way back to Number Twelve," Harry said with a smile. "I mean with your father's sense of direction it's no surprise, but…" He let the words hang in the air, Tom getting more and more annoyed the longer the silence went on. In the end the heir couldn't take it and tackled Harry to the floor, pinning him down.

They ended up bickering with one another until dinner, none of them really fighting anymore, just having fun. Harry was sure this was one of his favorite Christmas Eves, much better than last year's anyway, and when Tom sat down beside him, all traces of anger gone from his face, he leaned over kissed him, glad they were on the same side again.

"Trying to bribe me?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow. "I promised to be good."

"No, I just felt like kissing you," Harry replied truthfully.

"Oh joy, dare I ask why?" The Slytherin asked. He seemed suspicious of Harry, which actually made the Gryffindor quite amused.

"No, you won't get an answer."

"No making out at the table," Sirius said slamming the rolls down so hard the table nearly buckled. Lupin gave him a warning glare that the animagus completely ignored, and he sulked back off to get something else.

"And 'ere is the fun in 'at?" Fleur asked with a huff. "I will 'ese my man 'henever I 'ant!" She took a fork from the table beside her and fed Bill some of the ham she had in her plate. Bill ate it happily and returned the act holding up his glass of wine to allow her to have some. "Why 'ank you!" She sipped the wine pleasantly and the both of them started laughing.

"I like the looks of that," Tom smirked cutting up some of the ham he had and holding it up to Harry on his fork.

"I can feed myself thanks," Harry said completely ignoring his boyfriend's offer. He wasn't completely sure why Tom offering to feed him annoyed him, but it did. His boyfriend looked highly offended and spent the rest of the dinner moping.

"So, what are the plans for after Christmas?" Harry asked trying to break some of the awkward silences that'd fallen on the dinner table. "Anyone doing anything?"

"Well, we planned on having a party for the New Year, it's a muggle tradition, but it looked like fun," Lupin said glaring at Sirius for some reason as he talked. "We'll let off some fireworks and everything."

"That'd be fun, I haven't seen any fireworks since Fred and George were at school," Harry admitted. "They were really fun to watch, though."

"Why thank you Harry," Fred grinned.

"Can we get that in writing for our shop?" George asked hopefully.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley warned.

"I'll let you quote me," Harry laughed.

"Good enough!" Fred said cheerfully.

(X)

"Finally, we're at home!" Tom said pushing his way into Number Twelve. He was leaving a large trail of snow behind himself and all Harry could do was sigh at the mess he was making.

"Tom, at least remove your shoes," he scolded. The heir was paying him no mind however and was already heading up the stairs.

"Don't worry about it," Lupin said placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'll clean it up. You make sure he doesn't make any more of a mess."

With a slight nod Harry slipped his shoes off and ran after the heir. Tom had seemed completely content at the Burrow and yet the second they'd walked out the door he'd begun saying how glad he was to leave. The Gryffindor never got an answer as to why, but it was pretty clear that something had bothered him while they were there.

"Wait up!" He managed to catch the door before it slammed shut behind the Slytherin and pushed it open, closing it behind himself. "You're making a mess everywhere-DON'T YOU DARE!" Harry screamed tackling Tom to the floor. "No!"

"What the hell!"

"You are not climbing onto this bed with those wet clothes on," Harry growled. It was one thing to get the carpet dirty, but they had to sleep in this bed and he wasn't about to get sick because his boyfriend was being lazy for once in his life. "I'm serious, take all those clothes off."

"Really?" Tom asked his eyes brightening.

"And change," Harry said flatly now annoyed. "In fact better yet, I think we should get a shower in before we go to bed. It wouldn't hurt to be clean before Christmas Eve."

"And since when do you care about how clean we are?"

"Since when do you not?" Harry asked climbing off the heir and heading for the dresser. Despite living at Hogwarts most of the time, this room was filled with a bunch of clothes his size, a welcome gift, Sirius had told him. He grabbed some pajamas so he could change after he got out of the bath. "I'll go first," he said heading for the door. "Don't bother using a spell," he warned, grabbing his wand before he left.

Ten minutes later Harry walked back into the bedroom feeling much better. Now he was not only cleaned, but feeling completely relaxed and ready to fall asleep so he could take on the day tomorrow.

"All yours," he said brightly.

"I already took a bath downstairs," Tom said, his eyes focused on a book. Harry hadn't even realized his boyfriend was already in bed. Curious now, he got onto the bed and looked over Tom's shoulder to see what he was reading. "Counter curses," the heir replied no doubt having read Harry's mind.

"Any good?" He lied down getting under the largest quilt. He figured his boyfriend must have put a warming spell on the bed, because it was extremely comfortable despite how cold it was outside and how wet he was.

"Yeah, I found a way to turn… I mean it's very helpful."

"Tom," Harry sighed closing his eyes. He wasn't about to start a fight this late at night, not with Christmas Eve being the next day. Their last Christmas in Number Twelve had been horrible and the last thing Harry wanted was a repeat. "Just don't do anything to anyone during the holiday okay? I'd like to spend it peacefully."

"No worries, it's a going away present to someone," he smirked, flipping a page in the book.

"Just what I wanted to hear." Harry kissed his boyfriend on the cheek and turned his back to him. He removed his glasses before closing his eyes and yawning. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah," Tom said, no doubt barely paying attention to Harry's words. That was fine though, the Gryffindor knew if he could fall asleep before Tom realized he was going to sleep than he wouldn't try and stop him so he could sleep with him.

(X)

Tom waited a few minutes and when he heard Harry's even breaths start up closed the book, got out of bed, and walked out of the room. He had barely made it down the steps when Sirius nearly slammed into him.

"Watch where you're going," the animagus scowled before giving Tom another look and stopping. "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs," Tom said hotly. "What business is it of yours?"

"It's my house," Sirius snapped. "Whatever you do in here is my business."

"Then you'll be happy to know that Harry and I were-"

"Tom!" Lupin warned coming up the steps behind his boyfriend. He looked extremely tired, almost as if he'd just come out of a battle and barely escaped with his life.

"Why do you look so haggard?" the heir asked bluntly. If the two had been making out than they'd leave him alone not wanting to explain what they'd been doing or being able to justify what Harry and he had been doing was wrong.

"I was cleaning up the mess you left behind," he said folding his arms across his chest. "You trailed water everywhere."

"And footprints," Sirius growled. "This is not a hotel, and if it was, I'd have kicked you out by now!"

"Next time say something, I'll clean it up myself, that is, if you don't mind me breaking the underage wizarding law," he said cockily, walking passed them. He heard Sirius let out a long line of cursing, but ignored it; his real reason for being up was downstairs. He stepped into the living room staring at the Christmas tree they'd decorated two nights before and the fireplace next to it, exactly what he needed. He sat down in front of it, eyeing the thing wearily before removing a small bag he had hidden under his shirt. "This should make Harry happy," he said confidently.

Convinced this was going to work he grabbed the muggle food he had purchased at the store and stared at it. It said to cook the white things over an open flame, that'd be the fireplace. Opening the plastic bag he held one over the fire. It instantly began turning colors only to catch on fire, burning Tom's fingers in the process. He screamed a curse dropping the thing into the fireplace and watched as it burnt up the rest of the way.

"How does this work?" Growling he grabbed the bag and read the directions that were on the back of it. Nothing about how to cook these white things over flames, rather something called a microwave, whatever that was. He couldn't think of any way to overcome this problem until he jumped seeing Dumbledore on the couch watching him.

"Good evening Tom," his stepfather said pleasantly. "Trying for a muggle snack tonight?"

"It's none of your business," he hissed defensively. The last thing he needed was for Dumbledore to know what he was doing. "I was-"

"Perhaps if you place the snack on a fork?" he suggested. Tom stared at him a minute, thought about it and with a scowl got up to retrieve said object. Why he hadn't thought of that himself he didn't know.

"Just stake it?" he asked looking at the old man.

"Preciously. Not too long, you'll want to only hold there a few seconds…" Tom did as he was told; only holding the thing there long enough for it to turn slightly brown. "Now put it on the cracker…" Tom obeyed, one of the few times he ever did. "Now hold the chocolate over the flames, just enough to make it melt slightly." Once again, Tom did as he was told. "Now put that on the other cracker and smash it together."

"Smash it together?" Tom asked hardly believing him. "What's the point of smashing it together?"

"It will melt the chocolate more and warm the overall snack up, it makes it stickier."

"Sticky is good," Tom admitted, smashing the two crackers together. The cracker sandwich didn't look too good, but Tom had heard that muggles loved this kind of snack. "Don't eat any of those, if this went wrong I'll have to start over," he warned, getting up.

"And what dare I ask do you plan to do with that?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Get Harry to sleep with me," he said, honestly leaving Dumbledore behind staring at him in shock.

(TBC)

Okay there's the third chapter, only four more to go, right? Right? I hope so; this is getting a bit insane.


	32. A Small Change

Did anyone really think I'd get this far? I didn't, not really anyway, but you know how that goes.

Notes:It's shonen ai,if you are brain dead and unaware of that by this point, I'd apologize, but I'm getting sick of caring about morons.

Warnings:SHONEN AI

Notes 2: (X)is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 32: A Small Change

Harry could feel a strange bolt of energy coming from the heir; no doubt what had woke him up, and couldn't help grabbing his glasses to see what was going on. He was just about to sit up when Tom tackled him full on pinning Harry beneath him, holding some strange looking square box in his hand.

"Okay, the point of this is, you and me both eat it and you're supposed to get dirty so I can clea-" He shoved the heir off of him twitching.

"You woke me up for that?" Harry demanded. Flames rising up in his eyes, he sat up grabbing his pillow and slammed it into Tom as hard as he could. The heir dropped the box like object and hit the floor hard. "I thought we were being attacked!"

"Did you have to hit me that hard?" Tom screamed getting up.

Harry blinked at the heir a few times looking down at his hands. At first he thought it was blood, but his nose told him otherwise.

"Are you…covered in chocolate?" Harry asked lowering his pillow.

"Yes," Tom hissed. "I had made some kind of muggle snack; it was supposed to be good for sharing and getting people in the mood."

"You're an idiot," Harry said dropping the pillow onto the bed and grabbing the s'mores off the floor. "This is a snack people eat while they're camping."

"Camping?" Tom asked staring at the thing as if it was a death eater's mask now. "Camping?"

"Calm down," Harry snickered bringing the s'mores to his lips and taking a bite. It tasted pretty good Harry had to admit and handed it back to Tom somewhat reluctantly. "Try it."

"Why?"

"You'll like it," Harry promised him. "You went through the trouble of making it; you might as well try it."

Glaring the heir took the snack and bit off a small piece. Chewing it silently, he swallowed not saying a word.

"Liked it?" the Gryffindor asked half out of curiosity, half out of an idea forming in his head.

"It was good for a muggle snack," Tom admitted looking down at it.

"I figured you'd like it. You like sweet things," he laughed holding his hand up to Tom. "Go ahead; you can clean my hand since you got it dirty."

Smirking Tom grabbed his hand.

(X)

Morning came all too soon and it took everything Harry had to stagger out of the bedroom. Tom had tricked him, bottom line. What was supposed to be a simple snack sharing make out session had turned out to full blown rape again as far as Harry was concerned and he'd ended up not only taking another shower, but staying up most of the night. He couldn't help he felt sick again, no doubt thanks to them eating a few s'mores before actually doing anything, but whatever the reason he'd ended up staring up at the ceiling for hours, while Tom lied asleep perfectly happy.

"I hate him," he growled. "Next time he's on bottom." He walked down the steps nearly falling down them twice as he went, luckily enough he caught himself both times, and made his way into the kitchen. Everyone looked at him from the table, which he completely ignored and took a seat refusing to say a word. He felt like if he talked he'd throw up and yet he was somehow still hungry.

"Pleasant time Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shot the headmaster a look saying 'I dare you to make me answer that' and looked at the choices laid upon the table. He wasn't sure what he could get down at the moment, but he wanted something, anything to possibly fill his stomach so he could get a nap in before the others arrived. That's all he really wanted right now, some sleep, but he knew he wouldn't get any if his stomach remained empty.

"Harry, I have some clam chowder here, would you like some?" Lupin asked motioning to the bowl in the middle of the table. Harry gave a small nod staring down at the bowl when Lupin set it down in front of him. It smelled wonderful despite the turning of his stomach, and he grabbed the spoon so he could dig in.

Everyone seemed to remain silent after that, not completely sure what to say to Harry, but soon enough they were all talking amongst themselves again, the Gryffindor easily ignoring them all. How he was able to keep his attention on his food only he wasn't sure, but it helped and soon his stomach was full, the pain thankfully gone.

One more bowl later he thanked Lupin for sharing the soup and excused himself from the table. He walked out of the kitchen heading back upstairs, passed Tom on his way, completely ignored him and slammed the door shut before his boyfriend could catch up to him. Using his wand he locked it tight and collapsed onto the bed.

"Is that an 'I'm pissed at you'?" Tom asked through the door.

"Just go eat and let me get some sleep!" Harry groaned.

(X)

Feeling much more revived and a heck of a lot better, Harry walked into the study where everyone else had gathered since he'd locked them all out of his room. He took a seat beside Tom on the couch staring at the fire, a grin on his face.

"Hot chocolate?" Hermione asked holding up a mug. Harry doubted she knew just how good that drink looked to him. Despite the two bowls of clam chowder that morning he was now starving.

"Sure, thanks." He took it gratefully and sipped at it. The warmth from the liquid splashed down his throat and he couldn't help smiling brightly. "And thank you for letting me sleep. Someone else wasn't as kind," he said knowing they'd all understand who he was talking about.

"You were in complete agreement," Tom said defensively. That was completely true, but Harry wasn't about to give him the satisfaction, at least not right now.

"I was until I realized I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep once we were finished," he scolded playfully. He set his glass mug down on the coffee table and kissed Tom on the cheek. "But its okay, I'm not worried about it."

"You owe me ten galleons," Fred said grinning at George.

"So I do," the twin said sighing heavily only to start laughing himself.

"So Harry, about that promise?" Fred asked.

"Right. I was thinking we could do it in the basement," Harry said picking his hot chocolate back up. "Just let me finish this." He wasn't about to let the glass go until it was empty, preferably into his stomach.

"And just what kind of a promise did you make to these two?" Tom asked his eyes narrowed.

"You always jump to the worst scenario," Harry snickered. "We're just going over some spell work." Tom gave him a hard look, even had the nerve to go through his thoughts before finally nodding. It irked Harry that he'd slept with his boyfriend the night before only for him to act like he was some kind of untrusting whore the very next morning. "You're going to be lucky if I let you sleep in the same room as me tonight," Harry growled.

"I wouldn't threaten him with that Harry, he'd throw a fit, burn the place down," Draco snorted. "Heir of Slytherin can't handle the chosen one ignoring him."

"I'm warning you," Tom hissed. He put his mug down and was about to head towards Draco, but Harry grabbed his arm and jerked him back down.

"What was the last thing I said to you before I fell asleep the night before? No causing trouble to anyone during the holiday," Harry said in case his boyfriend needed reminding.

"I figured you meant to direct family members," he said innocently.

"You know I meant everyone, if I didn't you'd have killed everyone at Hogwarts by now." Tom gave a small shrug, he knew Harry was right and plopped his head down onto boyfriend's lap.

"Bother with the spells later, I haven't seen you all morning…I take that back. I saw you glaring at me and slamming the bedroom door in my face."

"So you did," Harry smirked at him. He started tugging at the heir's hair randomly copying the movements that Tom often did to his own hair. "You can look at me all you want then while I finish this hot chocolate."

"Alright Harry, we can wait," Fred grinned.

"Only a few more minutes, once you're done we'll try it with your boy toy," George added.

"Boy toy?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow glaring. "I am no toy."

"But we're making a whole product line! Mystical Question Answering Necklaces!" Fred shouted throwing his arms up into the air. "It's going to be a huge hit!"

"Should you even try I want a cut," Tom said now sounding bored. For some reason now the heir didn't seem the least bit interested anymore, his attention now focused on Harry's hand rather than anything else. The Gryffindor found it amusing that Fred and George could so easily distract the heir and made a mental note to ask them how they were able to do so with such ease.

"A cut huh? I suppose we could give him some money for it, couldn't we George?"

"Course we could Fred. Five galleons a necklace," Fred laughed.

"So what will you be doing anyway?" Hermione asked. "I'm sure I can be of some help."

Fred and George looked at each other, smiled and shook their heads.

"We don't think so," they both said in union.

"It just won't do," George said.

"Sorry Hermione, you can help us out the next time, alright?" Fred offered.

"What are you two up to?" She asked looking at them wearily. "Since you don't want me to help I'm going to guess you're doing something wrong."

"We're testing shields," Fred said sounding hurt.

"Testing shields how?" she asked.

"Testing shields with spells, duh," Fred said with a laugh.

"Thought that was the point of shields," George added.

"You both know what I meant," Hermione said scowling.

Harry was going to join in with their talk, but Tom had grabbed his free hand that wasn't playing with his hair and was examining the Gryffindor's fingers. Harry couldn't really understand it, but somehow the simple movements the heir was doing to his hand was causing him to blush.

"Must you always try and get my full attention this way?" Harry asked half wishing they were studying instead. It seemed to be the only time that Tom wasn't trying to pull him onto the floor. "I mean it Tom; we need to find a hobby."

"A hobby?" Tom asked in horror sitting up. "Fighting the dark side, being attacked by the dark lord, random visits into the past, people trying to kill us at every turn, school exams, when do we have time for a hobby?" he demanded.

"Well if that's the case, we shouldn't be making out either," Harry said his smirk returning. "There just isn't any time."

"That isn't a hobby," Tom shot at him. "It's a very necessary act of love."

"Please," Harry said rolling his eyes. "The only thing necessary about it is you get to act like you're in control of me for a night." He pulled his hand away from the heir's own so he could get his mug back and started drinking from it again. It was just so good, he wondered if someone had added butterbeer into it.

Seeing the glare from his boyfriend over the ridge of the cup, Harry completely gulped down the rest of his drink and set it down on the coffee table.

"Let's go!" He said to the twins pushing Tom off as quickly as he could. "Don't want to get behind, no need to cause anyone, any kind of har-"

"I'm going to cause you harm!" Tom raged managing to get from the floor to besides Harry in seconds. "What in the hell was that for?"

"Oh that? I was just having fun," Harry grinned. "Entertain the others alright?"

"Yeah, be a good young dark lord and teach Malfoy and Ron some manners," Fred added.

Before anyone could utter a word in reply, the twins had taken Harry by the arm and apparated. It took Harry a second to adjust himself, but he managed to not collide with the floor and gathered himself much sooner than he usually could.

"Done that before Harry?" Fred asked with interest.

"With Dumbledore," Harry grinned. "Guess I'm kind of getting used to the sensation, it's still a bit weird though."

"It can be like that," George agreed. "Never quite ever completely used to it."

"To weird for that," Fred added. "Anyway, let's get down to business."

Harry hadn't even noticed, but now that Fred had mentioned 'business' he realized that the entire basement had already been set up with the things they wanted to test. It was odd seeing robes, earrings and other types of clothing, not because they were normal, but because Fred and George were actually creating normal looking things.

"What do you want to start with?" Harry asked walking over to the table to get a good look at the items. He noticed one of them was a woman's dress robe and wondered which twin would be the one to try it.

"We're going to start with the rings," Fred said holding up a normal gold band type ring. "By the way, has anyone shot an unforgivable at Tom by any chance? You know, just to see if our charms worked on that one?"

"You mean you didn't test it before you gave it to him?" Harry asked in horror. He was just about to grab his wand and hex both twins, when he realized his wand was no longer in his back pocket. Completely embarrassed, Harry tried each of his pockets, but no luck, his wand was not on him.

"Bit of a problem Harry?" George asked nervously. He was standing behind Fred, who'd slipped the ring on and shielded his face with his arms.

"Do I look like Voldemort?" Harry asked hotly. "I was just going to hit you with something," he sighed. "Forgot my wand though."

"Forgot it or purposely left it behind?" Fred asked with a grin.

"Or perhaps it was taken?" George offered.

Harry frowned.

(X)

"Is that Harry's wand?" Hermione asked.

"This?" Tom questioned a grin on his features. "Why yes it is." He was stretched out on the couch and throwing Harry's wand randomly in the air. If Harry thought he could just run off without any repercussion, the joke was on him.

"Why do you have it?"

"Because I wasn't invited to go downstairs with him and if I can't spend time with him, I'll ruin his time with Fred and George."

"Gods you're really immature you know that don't you?" She asked with a shake of her head. Strangely enough she was smiling, her attention more focused it seemed on Krum right now, he'd arrived soon after Harry had vanished, and she let it drop there.

"So what did you two do last night?" Tom asked directing his attention to Draco and Ron. "You must have done something worth talking about."

"Not really," Ron admitted with a half shrug. "We just kind of sat and watched it snow for a while before we started making out."

"Went to bed early," Draco explained. "We didn't want to be tired for when we arrived here. Thought it best to be wide awake so you wouldn't have an advantage over us."

"I always have an advantage over you," Tom reminded him arrogantly. The truth was he didn't, but he could easily get on top should he have to. A small threat to end the red head's life would have Draco eating out of the palm of his hand if he really needed to go that far.

"Not with that kind of attitude you don't," Draco warned. "I thought we went over this, we're equa-"

"The only person who is even close to being my equal is Harry," Tom growled icily sitting up. Everyone in the room was now looking at him, Hermione looked somewhat hurt by the statement, Draco and Ron shocked. The heir looked at them for only a second longer before getting up and exiting the room making sure to slam the door shut behind him.

"Fools," he hissed in the snake language wishing Harry hadn't left him alone. So what if those people were supposed to be his friends as well? Harry knew it wasn't good to leave him alone with them. Just because they were friends didn't mean they were his equals either, Harry was, not completely, but close, the others might as well all be his servants. "Even if they aren't…" He said aloud before letting out a sigh. He'd screwed up after having promised Harry he wouldn't. He'd said he wouldn't hurt anyone and though he'd managed to not cause any physical damage, he'd sure as hell managed mental.

'I have your wand,' He told his boyfriend hoping it would lure the Gryffindor back to him. He knew Harry was down in the basement, but he wanted his boyfriend to come to him, not the other way around. He didn't want Harry to know he'd just angered all of their friends and was now feeling guilty about it.

'Will you send it down here then?' came the annoyed mental reply. 'I need that if I'm not going to kill these two.'

'Depends, what are you doing?'

There was a pause, a second of awkward silence before Harry finally said something.

'We're testing shields that protect against unforgivable curses.'

'You're what?' Tom asked dropping Harry's wand. Had the Gryffindor told him they were sleeping with each other he wouldn't have been as shocked as he was now. Unforgivables? His boyfriend casting unforgivables? 'How dare they force you into something like that? Why didn't you tell me?'

'Because they didn't force me,' Harry replied calmly. 'I told them I'd help, Tom this is a really good idea they have. If we can stop people from being so scared of Voldemort and the spells he casts we won't have to fight as much.'

Tom thought about this for a moment before he bent over to pick up the wand. Harry was right. If they could erase the problem that was Voldemort he could spend as much time with Harry as he wanted and no one would think twice to stop him. They could go anywhere, do anything, and there wouldn't be a single person who'd give it a second thought.

'Want my help?' He asked deciding giving Harry his wand was much safer than having his boyfriend come up and get it from him. If Harry left the basement there was the slim chance that he'd find out he'd just basically called their friends servants to their faces.

'I'm having problems casting the killing curse…I know I can and they're shielded, but it's still bothering me…'

'Considering you don't have your wand?' Tom replied raising an eyebrow.

'I was going to use Fred's, but yes you could cast that.'

'Consider it done,' he said quickly, perhaps too quickly, because Harry was suddenly checking over his mind to see why he was agreeing to help so easily. When he seemed satisfied that Tom had no ulterior motives he gave a mental nod and told the heir to come on.

(X)

"My thief of a boyfriend is being kind enough to bring my wand back," Harry told the twins shaking his head. He couldn't get what the heir was hiding, but it was something. When he'd tried to scan his thoughts a wall had suddenly been thrown up to the Gryffindor's annoyance, but he knew he'd figure out what was going on sooner or later. When Tom did something there was always someone that was hurt and Harry would be told about it.

"At least he's bringing it," Fred offered earning a scowl from Harry.

Five minutes later, much longer than it should have taken the heir, the basement door opened and he handed Harry his wand.

Harry took it silently giving his boyfriend the up and down. He couldn't help, but sigh and turned his back on him when he realized why it'd taken so long for Tom to show up.

"Did you have to change clothes?" Harry asked getting in position.

"You told me to wear more normal robes, that they look good on me," Tom smirked walking behind Harry and putting his arms around him. Harry couldn't help smiling at that, but managed to remain focused.

"So I did," he replied his eyes never leaving George. "Ready for the first one?" he asked grimly. Truthfully he didn't want to do these, but the shields had to be tested one way or another. They had stood against Fred and George's own attacks, but everyone knew Harry's would be stronger and if Harry's succeeded… "After I'm finished if the shields hold it's your turn," Harry said quietly. "If they can hold against your spells, we know they'll work perfectly."

"Heh, glad you guys decided not to tell Hermione," Tom smirked pulling Harry closer. "Alright love, you know what to do. Go ahead and cast."

Harry gave a small nod trying not to look sick. He had to do this, he was going to do it, too bad he really didn't want to anymore.

"Imperio!" Harry shouted his wand aimed directly at George's chest. The spell bounced off harmlessly hitting the wall and causing no damage at all to both Harry and Tom's shock.

"There's a dispelling charm as well mixed into the shield," Fred explained. "As soon as a spell touches it, it begins to die."

"That's useful," Tom admitted before seeing the look on Harry's face. Harry knew he must look awful, especially with the way Tom was looking at him. He pushed Harry's wand hand down and forced him to the side. "I'll do the rest of this, he can't do this," Tom said.

"I can too," Harry snapped despite the face he felt like his legs were going to give out. He was having a hard time dealing with the fact he'd shot an unforgivable at one of his close friends, even if it was to test a shield for the good of all wizarding kind.

"Sure, after you throw up a few times," Tom said leaving no room for debate. "I'll make sure not to cause them any harm."

Harry gave a small nod before taking some steps behind his boyfriend. He wasn't going to say it aloud right now, but he was really thankful that Tom was going to do this for him. Granted, the heir was going to do it anyway after he was finished, but he was sure he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something went wrong.

"Ready?" Tom asked sounding bored.

"I guess so, just no killing please," George grinned.

"Yeah, we do pay you," Fred added as if the fact they gave Tom some money twice a month was the very reason the twins should be able to live.

"Should I be checking these charms and shields to make sure they're strong enough before I go shooting curses at you?" Tom finally asked. Fred looked away, but George happily ran over handing the heir every single item they were supposed to be testing out. "I see," Tom said eyeing them. He obviously hadn't expected them to agree to his insult. "Okay." Grabbing the ring he looked it over a few times, cast a spell Harry had never heard before and seeing how bright the glow was nodded and handing it back to George. "This one is fine."

"Okay," the twin said brightly.

Tom repeated the spell on each item then, only seeming concerned with the robe armor. For some reason it wasn't giving off half the amount of glow as the others.

"Do you have a list of the order you did all these charms on?" Tom asked absently. Fred handed him the piece of paper and the heir took it looking it over. "Okay, so were you tired or something when you cast these spells on the robe? What's the deal with this thing? A four year old could curse you to death in it."

"We're not sure why the robe material isn't taking. We're using-"

"Giant's hide?" Tom asked staring at the twins at if they were idiots. "Giant? You used giant? Giants hide can't be charmed!"

"Why do you think we chose that?" Fred asked glaring back at the heir. "It's so hard to do magical damage to a giant; we figured it'd be harder for-"

"Not to mention the smell, the… you can't sell these," Tom said at last throwing it onto the floor. "I refuse to test my curses on this thing; you'll be dead before I even finish uttering the spell. The others should work."

"Did you guys even think about Hagrid?" Harry asked his stomach in a tight knot. Hagrid had been the first friend Harry had ever made and he was part giant. Even if it was just part, it made Harry sick to think that wizard's took the skin from Hagrid's relatives to make things like clothes.

"Well no…" George admitted looking down at the robe now in disgust. "Sorry Harry, we didn't think about that."

"We'll make it out of something else," Fred said, but he didn't look at all pleased with the idea.

"Try normal cotton, use the shields and charms and once you're finished add an antimagic spell on it to keep magic from actually affecting it in any way."

"Why didn't we think of that?" George wondered aloud only to get hit aside the head from Fred. "Hey!"

"Hey, stop it; we're trying to save people's lives!" Harry growled getting between everyone. "This has nothing to do with anyone's abilities or how good you are at casting spells, this is so you guys can help protect people and stop the fear that Voldemort's spreading again!" He screamed. "And what better chance do you have to test it than on Voldemort's younger form himself?!"

The three teens all looked at Harry, each one blinking silently, before Tom moved closer to Harry taking his hand gently.

"You're right," Tom said with a nod. "Let's do this."

"Actually I wasn't yelling at you," Harry said somewhat shocked himself. He was always yelling at Tom.

"Oh no I deserved it," he grinned. "Believe me, the warning was wrong, but I do deserve to be yelled at."

"Tom!" Harry groaned. "I knew you did something. What was it?" he asked wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. Even worse, Tom looked so proud of himself he prayed the upstairs of Sirius' house was still intact.

"I just kind of you know, something," he said completely avoiding his actual crime and walking back to where Harry had been standing to cast the spells. "Get your shields on," Tom warned.

George was about to slip the ring back on, when Fred shoved him aside and took it taking George's place.

"Better hope you have a backbone too," Tom said offhandedly aiming his wand at Fred.

"Tom," Harry warned.

"Crucio!" Tom screamed. The spell from Tom's wand was definitely much stronger than his usual spells, and it crashed into Fred so hard it knocked him flat to the ground, but even so the twin was not screaming in any kind of pain as if the spell had actually had any kind of effect on him him.

George rushed over to his twin to inspect the damage and grinned at them when Fred sat up rubbing his head, but looking fine beyond that.

"Good," Harry said relieved. He couldn't believe how strong Tom's crucius curse had been. He'd never seen such a strong curse, not even when he'd been standing against Voldemort.

"I guess I should have held back more," he said eyeing his wand before shrugging. "Let's finish the rest of these."

With the rest of the shields tested and Fred no longer in a bad mood, the four of them left an hour later. The twins left them immediately after, both of them wanting to start fixing the robe problem as soon as possible.

"I see the upstairs is still here," Harry said happily.

"What?" Tom asked staring at his boyfriend.

"So what did you do?" Harry asked when the two of them were alone. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know, but if he didn't ask he was going to get the backlash of it without being prepared, something he wasn't completely sure he could handle.

"Oh…nothing major. It was mental damage not physical harm," he explained as if his causing mental damage was perfectly fine. "They'll get over it."

"I'm sure, but since you're not willing to tell me what you did, that probably means it's worse than you're letting on."

"I said I was better than they are."

Harry had to do a double take a second before staring.

"You always say that," he said. "Why do you think they're mad this time?"

"Because I screamed it at Draco?" Tom asked innocently.

"In other words you offended your best friend setting off a chain reaction and now you're too full of pride to apologize for the stupid mistake you made," the Gryffindor said emphasizing the word you.

"Well if you want to be harsh about it," Tom said faking a frown.

"Why do I get dragged into these things? Had you just let it go directly after you said it, they probably wouldn't have even given it a second thought. You always treat us like we're servants."

"I don't treat you like that," Tom said stopping in his tracks. "You're my equal."

"I'm not your equal," Harry laughed turning to face his boyfriend. "I want to be, but I'm not in any way. I can't cast spells as good as you can, I'm not as smart as you, and you're better looking than I am. The list goes on, but I'm trying…"

"You are my equal," Tom repeated more firmly this time taking Harry by the hand and dragging him forward. "You are, you're getting there and even if you weren't, you're perfect," he said bringing Harry's hand up to kiss it gently.

"Are you drugged?" Harry asked taken aback. Once again it seemed the heir's attitude had changed, for the better thankfully, but even so it was kind of creeping him out. If Tom were really a snake he'd say his boyfriend had just shed his skin and was now a fresh person.

"No…I'm just happy," Tom said sounding just as surprised as Harry was. "I'm glad I'm here with you."

"Yeah…me too," Harry said smiling back.

TBC

Well, that took forever to update. Sorry.

415-618-6565


	33. Christmas Morning

Okay…I'm not even going to try to defend myself. Just shoot me and get it over with and yeah, here's the next chapter and umm yeah. Enjoy.

Warnings: It's shonen ai….yes Harry and Tom are in a relationship and Draco is with Ron and yeah. So is Sirius and Lupin.

Chapter, 33: Christmas Morning

To Harry's relief mending the "fight" between Tom and the others was quite easy. All Harry had to do was say the heir was being petty about his going to help Fred and George without saying a word to the Slytherin and everyone immediately understood that Tom was just being Tom, which happened to be a ten year old in a sixteen year old body.

"It's snowing again," Ron, said absently staring out the window. They still had another two hours before dinner and had run out of things to entertain themselves with.

"That's the fourth time today," Draco, answered, his hands playing with Ron's own. Hermione and Krum were cuddled in front of the fire place, Harry and Tom lounging on the couch.

Harry himself was trying desperately to think of something to do. They'd already gone through a long wizard chest tournament, finished all the homework they had left for the winter break, and tried playing a game of euchre until Tom set the deck on fire for losing two times in a row.

"We could go play in the snow," Tom said in a bored tone. He had stretched out on the couch, his head hanging over the edge of a cushion while he read a book.

"That sounds fun," Harry said sitting up. The idea was so simple and obvious the Gryffindor mentally slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner himself. "Should we go build a snowman?" he asked excitedly. They'd done it a few times at Hogwarts, but somehow the idea of building one at Sirius' house seemed much more fun.

"Are we even allowed in the front?" Draco asked him and Ron finally paying attention to something beyond themselves.

"We could build one in the back," Hermione suggested before Harry could even begin to feel depressed.

"Great idea!" Harry grinned. "Let's go guys!"

And so soon enough they were gathering their winter gear and putting it on as quickly as they could. Even Tom to Harry's amusement seemed to be happy about it, no doubt, because they were using his idea.

"Should we partner up and see who can make the best one?" Tom asked with a smirk.

"No, we're going to all build one together," Harry, said eyeing all the snow in Sirius' backyard. Even though he'd been there last Christmas, none of them had gone into the backyard. In fact, this would be Harry's first time ever seeing it. It wasn't the biggest yard he'd even seen, but it was a lot bigger than the Dursley's own. Everything was completely covered in snow of which Harry could only make out the fence and two birdbaths.

"Let's see how big we can make it," Harry grinned. They all agreed of course, each one of them competitive in their own way and started the task of crafting their new snow friend. It took longer than Harry thought it would, but with each of them doing their own parts, they managed to make a giant snowman. It was so large Tom and Hermione both had to use their wands to levitate the head alone onto the top. The other items such as the carrot nose, scarf, and hat all of which they'd gotten from Dumbledore had to be transmutated into giant versions of themselves so they'd fit on the snowman.

"This came out great," Ron said happily looking it over.

"It needs something though," Tom said folding his arms across his chest.

"I get it," Krum said walking pass the couple. He took his wand out and hit the snowman dead on and immediately it started waving. "That is a snowman," he explained with pride.

"Great idea!" Hermione cheered happily throwing her arms around Krum's neck.

"I guess so," Tom muttered and Harry hit him.

"Just because you didn't do it first doesn't mean you should act like a baby," he hissed at him. "There's a reason this was a group effort."

"Oh wow…." Came Sirius' shocked voice from the door. "This is amazing!"

"Indeed, "Dumbledore smiled from beside Harry's Godfather.

They were all welcomed inside everyone telling them "great job!" only to get a scolding by Mrs. Weasley a few minutes later for using magic. Harry really didn't care at this point though. He was pleased with himself for being praised by Sirius, Lupin, and Dumbledore and not even Mrs. Weasley's yelling was going to put him in a bad mood.

Dinner was served shortly after, which they all sat and talked about what their plans for the next day would be. When everyone finally left and baths had been taken, Harry and Tom found themselves cuddled together in the main room in front of the Christmas tree.

Harry had attempted to get some sleep straight out of the shower, but the ice storm that had started up was keeping him awake. The ice was falling hard and freezing the tree branches outside causing even more noise, especially when the wind would blow and the Gryffindor just couldn't get himself to relax. The ice and noise reminded him of dementors.

"What a Christmas," Harry muttered closing his eyes. It was better than last years, but the storm was making him uneasy all the same. "I hope it doesn't get so bad the others can't come back over tomorrow."

"They'll get here," the heir assured him. "No matter how bad it gets, there's always a way to move around in the wizarding world."

"Yeah," Harry agreed tiredly. They remained in the main room another hour or so just watching the tree sparkle gently in the darkness. It was without a doubt peaceful, but even so, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that something might try to ruin their Christmas. It was no doubt paranoia due to the events of their first Christmas together. Luckily, though, no one was fighting and the last thing on their minds was causing any type of bodily harm to one another.

"Come on." Tom had stood up when he wasn't paying attention and was holding his hand out to him. "Let's get to bed. The storm will be over before you know it."

"Yeah…"

The two of them headed up the stairs quietly, Harry glad for Tom's help or he might have fallen trying to climb them by himself. Once they made it into the bedroom, they both collapsed onto the bed without saying another word.

(X)

"I'll take it okay, stop being so pushy!" "Harry heard himself laugh. "Now I have to buy you something really expensive. I hope you're happy!"

"Harry…"

(X)

Harry blinked as he sat up in bed, and could find no source of the voice what so ever. No one was in the room, even Tom had slipped out at some point leaving him alone in the bed. It was daylight by now and Harry could see a large stack of gifts at the foot of his bed.

"Tom?" Harry called out. The heir could easily be in the bedroom's connecting bathroom, no need to panic, because the voice in his dream had sounded like his boyfriend's death cry from the year before. When he got no reply, however he climbed out of bed and the joy of nearly killing himself.

Tom it seemed had gotten off the bed at some point and had fallen asleep in front of the gifts, guarding them like the five year old he usually was.

"You moron," he smiled dropping to his knees beside his boyfriend. Tom's right hand was already around one gift, the tag clearly marking it from Dumbledore. "You're a daddy's boy aren't you?" he asked with a grin.

"And you're going to be a dead boy," Tom said with a scowl as he sat up and started rubbing his eyes. He looked so adorable to Harry and the foolish Slytherin having taken his shirt off before climbing into bed, Harry couldn't control himself. He tackled the heir to the ground before he even had a chance to look up and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Merry Christmas," Harry said brightly. "I love you."

"I love you too," the heir replied honestly his own arms going around Harry. "I told you the storm would stop," he added with a grin.

"Yeah." The truth was Harry wasn't even giving the storm a second thought now. The only thing that mattered to him was that his boyfriend was there with him. "You know…I'm still really dependent on you," Harry started and closed his eyes. "I kept telling myself eventually I'd have to be able to be independent and still be your lover, but now…I think it doesn't really matter. I think we have a healthy enough relationship."

"…who are you trying to lie to?" Tom asked staring at him. "We're both crazy and overly dependent on each other. If either one of us died the other would go mad and commit suicide. We fight every chance we get, our relationship is one of the worst the planet has ever seen," the Slytherin said bluntly.

"Then why…?" Harry asked almost in shock.

"I thought we already said it. We love each other," he replied simply kissing him on the cheek. "I guess it is a strong force."

"….We're screwed," Harry said starting to laugh.

"May we both rot in hell together," the heir agreed happily. "Until that time however, we have gifts!" He said the word gift with such enthusiasm all Harry could do was smile.

"Yes of course. Christmas gifts are the perfect way to fix the issue of us going to hell," he rolled his eyes. Even so, he found himself climbing out of Tom's lap so he could look at his own mini mountain. He was about to open the one on top from Lupin, but stopped seeing Tom's expression. He was smiling brightly and examining what looked to be a wand polishing set. "You're easily pleased," Harry grinned at him.

"Hey, my wand needs to look perfect. It's often times the last thing people see before they die."

"Tom," Harry sighed. He should have known the reason his boyfriend enjoyed such a simple gift was for a bad reason.

"Aren't you going to open any of yours?" Tom asked when he noticed Harry was just sitting there.

"Yeah, I will…it's just. I kind of already have enough stuff," Harry blurted out. He was so used to not having much, it was somewhat hard to get used to seeing all these things piled up for every holiday and his birthday.

"Well, that's very selfless of you, but if you don't open mine I'll have to cause you bodily harm."

"Fine, fine," Harry snickered looking through the pile until he located Tom's gift. It was a somewhat small, but long parcel covered in silver wrapping and a red bow. "Great color scheme," Harry taunted him.

"I didn't wrap it," Tom said looking quite annoying. "You don't have to open it this second…just do it sometime today."

"Oh, alright." Harry promised kissing him on the cheek and sliding the gift into his pocket. He knew Tom had wanted him to open it right that minute, so making him wait would prove to be much more fun, besides. Harry really just wanted to get the day started. It was after all Christmas and the day would no doubt be special. "Oh, I want to take pictures," Harry said before he forgot.

"Sure, we could use some," Tom, agreed.

Smiling the two of them got dressed and headed downstairs to see if anyone needed some help. With as crazy as last year's Christmas had been, Harry truly wanted this one to be great. So far, with the lack of blood, chains, and screaming, it was already a huge improvement.

"Harry," Lupin said walking into the main room where said boy had stopped to admire the Christmas tree again. Harry could never get it out of his head how great a Christmas tree could be. He'd always liked the ones at the Dursleys even though he'd never received any gifts, but it was so much better knowing he'd helped decorate it with a loving family.

"Oh, hey Remus, Merry Christmas," he said happily.

"Merry Christmas Harry. I know it's a bit to ask, but can you come with me to the store? I forgot a few things and could use some help."

"Sure, To-"

"Actually, Dumbledore's looking for Tom. I'm just going to borrow Harry, be back soon!" He dragged Harry out before any protests could be made and the Gryffindor found himself getting his boots and coat on in record time. "Sorry to make you rush Harry. Dumbledore wanted to speak to Adrese alone," Lupin explained once they were outside.

"It's fine. He hates muggle stores," Harry laughed. They walked down the street then, both of them talking pleasantly to one another. "You know…this past summer I never thought I'd be spending another holiday like this," he said quietly. "I'm grateful…but it feels weird."

"Yes…when I first saw Sirius alive and home…I broke down in tears," Lupin admitted sheepishly. "Let's not have any more random escapades so we can avoid things like that."

"Agreed," Harry said happily.

They didn't say much after that, both of them lost in memories it seemed. The past year had been hard on both of them, but in the end, it had been a happy one. It was this feeling of relief and happiness that filled them as they entered a small muggle shop that would be open until noon, smiling and waving at the owner.

"Welcome! Merry Christmas!" The shop owner said from behind a deli stand. "What can I get you?"

"Actually, I forgot a few things," Lupin said embarrassedly. "Harry, could you grab the eggnog and the list of spices here while I get the sausage?"

"Sure." He took the list Lupin had been holding and headed down the nearest aisle. It couldn't be too hard to find these things, there were six isles in this small shop and the back wall held all the cold items that weren't meat. As he walked down the aisle, he realized it wasn't the one for spices and headed for the next one. This turned out to be right according to the small sign listing all the objects he would find on the shelves in the aisle, but Harry's biggest problem was no longer finding the right spices. Standing in front of him was none of than the ministry of magic Rufus Scrimgeour and to Harry's horror, Percy.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Scrimgeour said waving to Harry from down the aisle. He'd gone as far as to grab a basket when he'd walked into the store and had filled it up with random objects. The Gryffindor wondered just how in the world they'd know he was going to be here and muttered a curse. He doubted Dumbledore had set this up and doubted even less that Lupin was behind it.

"A surprise yes, how you let a murderer work under you," Harry said coldly when the minister was close enough.

"You…." Percy said narrowing his eyes. It was obvious by the look on Scrimgeour's face that he had no idea what Harry was talking about. The way Percy was acting wasn't exactly innocent like and the minister didn't seem too happy about how fast the table had been turned on him.

"If you thought I was going to stay quiet, you were wrong," he said glaring at the Weasley in front of him. How many times he'd blamed himself and Tom for Mrs. Weasley's death until he had found out that it had been Percy. He wished there was actual proof to get him sent to Azkaban, but for now there was nothing. "Do you know how many problems you've caused?" He asked flatly. Even as the words left his mouth he was aware how awful that sounded, but blew it off. Being Tom's boyfriend allowed for some coldness.

"He's lying Sir!" Percy attempted, but Scrimgeour no longer looked too sure of himself.

"Scrimgeour, Percy!" All three stopped what they were doing, attentions drawn to Lupin who was now standing behind the minister and Percy. "What do you two think you're doing here?" he asked his eyes narrowing.

"Re-"

"You spent six years chasing my lover down knowing full well he was innocent," Lupin spat. It was the first time Harry had seen Lupin lose his temper in public. "Now you're out to harass his godson? Don't act so casual with me."

"Listen here Lupin," Percy started, but Harry shoved passed him destroying any attempt Percy had at finishing his sentence. He stopped in front of Lupin, gave him a nod and the two of them headed for the door, the spices completely gone from Harry's mind.

"Leave us alone," The Gryffindor called back coldly as they made it out the exit. "I didn't get the things on the list," he told Lupin once they were back outside. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Sirius and I will get them ourselves later."

"Wonder what they wanted," Harry thought aloud. "At least Aderes wasn't here; the shop would have gone up in flames."

"Yeah…Harry I'm sorry. I had no idea the minister himself would be out on Christmas and looking for you."

"It's alright. I'm not going to live in fear and never leave the house," he pointed out. He didn't want the werewolf feeling guilty over something so pointless. It wasn't his fault. They had just about made it back when Harry felt someone grab his jacket pocket and jerk something out of it.

"Hey-"

"Ha! If you want it back you'll….!" In a desperate attempt to get Harry to talk, Percy had grabbed the one thing in the Gryffindor's pocket, Tom's gift. At first, Harry was going curse the fool for stealing from him, but someone had beat him to it.

Percy dropped the gift, blood slowly pouring from his eyes and mouth, steady at first until it became a constant flow, his entire body beginning to shrivel up.

"Wh, what? Remus!" Harry screamed taking a step back. How could Tom's gift do such a thing? Had the gift actually been a trap in order to kill him? Regardless of the reason, he had no idea how to stop the blood coming out of Percy. He cringed then when Percy's legs gave out and he fell to the ground in a mess of blood and snow.

"What was in your pocket?" Lupin asked in horror, his wand now out. He was casting one healing spell after another, but nothing seemed to be working.

"My pocket…." He blinked a few times before realizing the mistake he'd made. 'Tom…is your gift for me still in my pajama's pocket?' he asked mentally hoping that to be the case. He didn't remember removing the item out when he'd changed.

'It was, I put it on the bed,' came the bored response. Harry was glad his boyfriend wasn't trying to kill him, but now they had much bigger problems to deal with. 'You sound distressed, what's wrong?' the Slytherin asked. He obviously needed something to do.

'I'll explain later,' Harry promised. "That's not mine," Harry said to Lupin quickly. "The gift that I received that looks like that, it's in my room."

"Someone had to know though…." Frowning Lupin raised his wand into the air and pointed it directly up as if he was going to call the knight bus. Instead blue and green sparks came out, five wizards wearing St. Mungo's uniforms appearing in front of them. They examined the scene without a word, their leader, an older looking wizard with long brown hair and pale green eyes pointing to Percy and then approached Harry and Lupin.

"Who did this?" he asked sternly.

"That gift on the ground was cursed. We believe he was trying to slip it into Harry's jacket and accidentally touched it himself," Lupin explained putting his wand away. This was not at all what Harry had been thinking, but he found himself nodding in hopes of not getting dragged off for another court date. It wasn't like he'd cursed the package after all.

"He just came running after me," Harry added. "We used to be friends, but…" he let his voice trail off making himself look frail. "Everyone's against me these days." He said the words quietly, hoping the man would pity him and just take Percy away.

"Aurors will of course be coming to question this matter," the man said. He turned his back on them and with the other four wizards vanished with Percy.

"Well that's just great," Harry, muttered looking back to Lupin. "How do we explain this to the Weasleys…?"

"We don't," Lupin said catching Harry by surprise once more. "I'll tell Sirius, Mr. Weasley, and Dumbledore. I don't want a repeat of last year."

"It seems almost like everything is repeating itself from last year," Harry said closing his eyes. His head was beginning to hurt at this strange turn of events. There was no way he could possibly handle losing Tom and Sirius again.

"Well, I'm sure everything won't repeat itself," Remus said no doubt having the same line of thinking as Harry's own. "Let's get back home…"

"Yeah…"

The rest of their way back was uneventful which couldn't have been more of a relief for Harry. He was getting sick of these random attacks and the things that kept happening. When they made it into number twelve, he put all of his things away, went into the main room where he found Tom sitting next to the tree and slumped down beside him.

"I'm never leaving this place again without you," he said before bursting into a fit of laughter. "My life has gone to complete hell since we've met. Thanks."

"It has not," Tom said defensively, glaring. "What put you in such a rotten mood?"

"I left the house, I got attacked," he explained with a shake of his head. "I can't believe it at all. I'm not supposed to tell anyone though, well. I'm not supposed to let the Weasley's find out."

Tom studied him a moment, waited for Harry to continue and when he didn't, hit him.

"Who attacked you?" his tone giving fair warning to Harry that he didn't want any games this time.

"You can't tell Draco, he'll tell Ron," Harry said. "Can you promise me that?" Despite the heir's constant act of being isolated and alone, Harry knew he told Draco everything.

"Fine, who-"

"It was Percy," Harry said glad he could get it off his chest. "Someone's watching number twelve or you or something," he said grabbing Tom's arm. "The gift you gave me, there was an identically wrapped one shoved into my pocket. When he grabbed it trying to use it to threaten me it turned out to be cursed. He started bleeding from his eyes and mouth…" Harry pushed the images out of his mind no longer wanting to see them. "Someone either saw you buy that gift…or someone is watching us."

"I bought your gift at a muggle store," Tom said it seemed trying to remember if he'd noticed anyone suspicious. "Dumbledore was with me, we saw no one…but if it was after that."

"I don't think Draco is a spy," Harry said quickly before Tom could even say it. If that thought got logged into Tom's brain, Draco would be getting tortured before Christmas dinner. "What about the portraits?"

"The….well maybe," Tom admitted. "They do talk a lot…"

"Maybe we should just ask Dumbledore?" Harry attempted. The headmaster was often the one to go to with these kinds of problems and they wouldn't even have to sneak around to get to him. All they had to do was climb a staircase and knock on his bedroom door.

"And put me through another lecture," Tom sighed standing up. "Alright, fine. Drive me insane."

"That's right; he wanted to talk to you in private, what was that about?" Harry asked getting off the floor and following the heir to the staircase.

"Nothing important, just wasting my time telling me Merry Christmas and how glad he was to see me alive," he muttered under his breath. Harry caught it easily and couldn't help a smile.

"If he hadn't said anything you'd be pissed off that he forgot."

"I….fine," Tom scowled. Harry of course had been right.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked knocking on the headmaster's bedroom door. It felt a bit strange to Harry to be able to get a hold of Dumbledore outside of Hogwarts.

"Harry? Is something the matter?" The professor asked before he opened the door. Upon seeing Tom and Harry, he smiled and moved so the couple could enter.

"We have a problem," Harry said sitting down in a nearby chair. Tom finding nowhere else to sit just sat down in Harry's lap.

"I could conjure another chair up," Dumbledore offered with a smile.

"He's fine," Harry, laughed. "No…Lupin and I were attacked…or rather I was on the way back from the store. Someone had cursed a gift and shoved it in my pocket; the problem is it was a replica of the one Tom gave me this morning. Someone had to have seen him buy it or….or there's a spy in the order." Harry didn't feel like trying to beat around the bush like this. He wasn't about to end up like Percy, so much of his blood lost from his eyes and mouth that you could see his bones through his skin. Sure the guy deserved it, he'd killed his own mother, but that didn't mean he wanted to see it happen again, or be the it happened to.

"That is…quite disturbing," the headmaster said taking a seat on his bed. "Tell me exactly what happened." And so Harry began his long explanation to the headmaster of exactly what had taken place. Everything from Lupin asking him to get some spices to the werewolf having to call St. Mungo's because healing spells weren't helping Percy at all.

"And what's really strange," Harry said after he'd finished. "Scrimgeour was with Percy, but once he attacked me….the minister never showed up again to help him or anything."

"….Harry. I do not wish to put you on alert, but I have learned from some of my mistakes from the year before. It is not knowledge known to the public, but I'm afraid Percy Weasley was sent to Azkaban months ago for attempting to hold prisoner a highly positioned wizard from Norway.

"What?" Harry asked not believing it. "That means…"

"Yes it does. Someone with polyjuice potion…no doubt a death eater was the one who confronted you."

"That doesn't exactly make that better…"

"As a matter of fact it does," the headmaster said pleasantly. "If they're using such methods to attack you, chances are Tom and I were fooled and they watched us purchase your gift, which means there are no spies in the order."

"You better hope you're right," Tom said looking away. "I didn't come back so my boyfriend could take my place in death."

"I assure you we are doing everything in our power to keep each and every student safe, Tom and you know that."

"Let's go," Tom, said grabbing Harry's hand. He didn't seem to be up to listening to the headmaster at all.

"Umm thanks professor," Harry called out as he was dragged out the door. Tom slammed it shut before the headmaster could reply and started heading for their bedroom.

"This is insane," the heir said sounding somewhat distraught. "I let you out for ten minutes and you get attacked by death eaters. This is all my fault."

"Wait," Harry, said jerking his arm back. The act won him the Slytherin's attention, but also his anger, because he found himself pinned to the wall seconds later, the heir's eyes slits.

"Wait? You want me to find your corpse in front of Hogwarts huh?"

"No," The Gryffindor screamed in frustration. "I don't see how you think this is your fault. I've had death eaters after me for years, how are you to blame?" It had been so long since Tom had lost his temper this way that it actually unnerved Harry to find himself back in this familiar position.

"It doesn't matter. I should have ignored Dumbledore and gone with you…"

"We can't give up our lives for each other," Harry said letting out a sigh of relief. At least Tom wasn't angry with him, rather just himself. "Look, I run off around Hogwarts without you all the time, we should be able to do the same when we're at home. I've never been attacked in Diagon," Harry pointed out. "It was just really good timing on their part."

"You're so stupid," Tom laughed taking Harry by the wrist again and leading him to the room. "I want you to open your gifts though so we have no more problems like this, at least for now."

"Alright." Harry had to agree with his boyfriend on this one. The last thing he wanted was for another one of his supposed gifts to cause any more problems. He walked over to the bed and grabbed Tom's gift first, only to realize the heir had left the room. "What's his problem?" Harry muttered with a frown. He'd watched Tom unwrap his gifts why wasn't he staying to watch Harry do the same?

Deciding it really didn't matter if the heir was in the room or not when he opened his gifts, he ripped the paper off to reveal a long necklace box from a jewelry store. Tom was nuts though if he thoughts Harry was about to give up the necklace he already had. Harry couldn't trust himself to leave the one with the star in the middle anywhere out of his sight. If it broke, he wouldn't know what to do.

Even so, he wanted to see what it actually looked like and pulled open the box. Inside was a long piece of paper that Harry removed first and began to read.

"Harry, I know you told me not to, but I did it anyway. I hope you're not too mad with me."

Blinking Harry looked down in the box, a silver ring with small diamond placed inside of it, in other words, a wedding band.

"He didn't…" Harry said aloud his stomach turning. He had told Tom not to, swore he'd kill him if he did and yet, he couldn't help his face turning red and wanting to try it on. He was already bound by a mark to his boyfriend, what was a wedding ring? It was after all just another symbol the two of them could share; he'd have to get one for Tom for his birthday. "This is going way to fast," he laughed. He had of course, no intentions of getting married yet, not until after he finished school and Voldemort was gone, but the idea of being promised to someone like this… "What am I saying?" He scolded himself. "Tom and I were promised to each other a long time ago!…but with a ring…" He hung his head slipping the silver band on his left ring finger anyway. Since he wanted everyone in the world to know Tom and him were destined for one another, what was one more symbol to wear?

The rest of his gifts didn't even come into comparison with Tom's, even if they were thoughtful. More books, Harry was sure he'd have to buy a library soon to hold them all, some more dress robes he had no idea where he'd wear them at, some candy, he had enough of that, and a few things for Hedwig, which he really enjoyed. No one ever seemed to remember his owl.

When he was done getting rid of the paper and had stared at his ring a good hour or so while lying on his bed he got up deciding to let Tom know he wasn't going to skin him alive. In truth, the necklace seemed much more important to him than this ring, even more like a wedding symbol to him than the other, but it didn't matter it seemed. Tom had been so bent on making Harry swear to be his in every way shape and form; this was actually to the heir, just another chain in the shackles binding him, Harry knew. Granted, the Gryffindor didn't actually mind being shackled to his boyfriend.

It didn't take long for Harry to relocate his boyfriend; he seemed to be glued to the Christmas tree or something, because every time Harry left him alone, he was in this location. Grinning Harry once again took a seat beside his boyfriend, but said nothing, instead opting to play as he usually did. He placed his left hand under the tree skirt, his right hand at his side.

"The tree is beautiful this year," Harry said looking up at it.

"Yeah…" Tom said refusing to look Harry's way. The Gryffindor did notice however, he kept trying to poke at his mental defensives.

"I wonder how it'd look if we made it snow here…wouldn't have to be real snow just to give it a more natural look." He tilted his head back to regard the tree more trying to get a mental image of what the tree would look like if they magically added snowfall to it.

"Probably good," the heir said stiffly.

"Do you know when the others are supposed to arrive?" Harry asked finally looking back at the heir.

"No…"

"Oh…I wanted to thank Hermione for her gift. It was a book on raising a healthy owl."

"That was nice of her," Tom said starting to sound angry.

"It was," Harry agreed. "Got a few things from Lupin too for Hedwig. Owl toys and such," he smiled. "I should have gotten a few things for Basilisk."

"I left that foul thing with Dumbledore," Tom hissed. The idea of that owl alone made him want to scream according to the mental image he sent Harry. "What about mine?" he finally asked.

"Yours? I thought I'd wait until after dinner and everyone left to open it," he said casually. "You know, one more gift before be-" He let out a loud yelp Tom tackling him to the floor and getting on top of him.

"Do you realize how long I've had to wait and how much courage I had to gather just to give you that thing?" Tom demanded. "I wouldn't have even done it without Dumbledore shoving me into the place!" He looked utterly outraged, which actually caused Harry to laugh since he was wearing the ring already.

"It looked like a necklace box…but I already have a necklace and I'm not changing it," he said giving the heir a fake frown. "Why should I give up this one?"

"It wasn't a necklace!" He groaned dropping his head onto Harry's shoulder and stretching out. "You're tiring me out," he whined.

"Since when is it possible to tire out the great dark lord?" Harry snickered. He decided his boyfriend had, had enough and removed his hand from the tree skirt and put his arms around him. He'd find out soon enough when he started tugging at his boyfriend's hair.

"It's been a long day. I've been doing my best not to act out. If I had it my way, those death eaters would already be rotting," he swore closing his eyes. "I don't want to lose you."

"You really are hyper and just hide it aren't you?" Harry asked suddenly. When he'd confronted Tom about it first a year or so ago since Tom as Aderse had constantly been jumping him, Harry had thought Tom was in fact, hyper beyond normal means. The heir had quickly denied it, but seeing him now with most of his defenses down, Harry was sure, he'd been right. Tom was a very hyperactive over emotional child.

"I am not," he muttered. "I just take things too personally sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Harry asked before he started laughing again. "More like always. I wouldn't worry about it though, I'm pretty sure everyone knows by now." The Gryffindor deciding enough was enough moved his left hand to push some of Tom's hair out of his eyes, making sure the silver band touched some of his skin. "Why don't you just relax?"

"Why don't you…." his voice trailed off as the ring touched his face and he went silent. They stayed there silent a few moments, Harry unsure if he should say anything, Tom merely breathing. "You took it," he said finally when he'd managed to stop hyperventilating.

"I did," Harry said and the heir opened his eyes to look down at Harry's hand, his face red.

"So…that means you accept?"

"I do," Harry said with a hint of a smile on his face. "But not now…later."

"Later…" The heir repeated with a nod. He didn't seem to care at all when this supposed wedding took place just that it would.

"I hope you realize that in doing this you aren't just binding me to you, you're binding yourself to me," Harry said just to make sure the heir understood the way weddings worked.

"I know!" The Slytherin sounded hurt at Harry's words, but he knew better. If Harry didn't make clear that things had to go both ways, like last year he'd end up Tom's puppet and in a cage, he was sure of it.

"Good," he said looking at Tom's own hand. "So then…what ring size are you?" Harry asked allowing the smile to form now. "I have to return your favor."

"You don't have too," Tom, said looking down at his own hand now as well. "I'm comfortable-"

"You're completely unwilling to look taken," Harry cut in for him. He should have known, but he wasn't about to give the ring he'd just received from Tom back either. Instead, he'd make sure to get the boy's finger measurement later and get the heir his own ring anyway. It was no doubt, what Tom had done to him.

"It has nothing to do with that and you know it," Tom snapped. "I like the Slytherin heir ring."

"So should I get you a necklace with a ring attached to it?" Harry asked sitting up, Tom being forced to as well. "You don't even wear the one I got you last year, the one for protection?"

"It's annoying," Tom, said looking away. "I don't like jewelry that much."

"And I'm supposed to?" Harry asked glaring. "I'm stuck wearing a ring and a necklace to make sure you don't die and the world knows that I belong to you, but you don-"

"Like this stupid thing even matters anymore?" Tom asked grabbing the necklace and snapping the chain. He threw it onto the floor, but Harry was somehow ready for it. His hand shot out grabbing the necklace just as Tom's foot came down and smashed his hand instead. "He, hey!" The heir shouted dropping to his knees. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"You didn't have to do that," Harry said quietly. He felt like tearing up, partly from the pain he now felt and because of how much he loved the necklace. It had been this very object that had brought Tom to him, that had kept him from going mad, everything their relationship had been built on had been, because of this necklace. To him it was not just a good luck charm, but also Tom's very lifeline.

"You're a fool!" Tom shouted, despite the fact he was holding Harry's hand now and kissing it. As always, the pain drifted out of Harry's body as if it had never happened. "You shouldn't do things like that!"

"And you shouldn't destroy such important things. This necklace means more to me than even the mark you have etched into my skin!" He said closing his eyes. "You have to understand this Tom, there's no way around it. Having this necklace to me makes me feel like I'm holding your heart. When you get hurt, the necklace cracks, when you're in good health, it glows. I always have it with me just in case you need to return to it so please…"

"I don't understand you…" Tom said quietly, but his anger was gone now and he was holding Harry close. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have tried to break it."

"No, you shouldn't have," Harry said leaning against him. At the least, it seemed that Tom understood he wasn't to try to damage it again.

"I'll come with you when you get my ring…to make sure it fits," he said after they'd been sitting there half an hour or so in silence. "I won't complain I'll wear it every day…"

"It's okay. You don't have to," Harry said surprising even himself. "I just want you to accept it…"

Tom was about to say something, but they both turned hearing the front door open, a ton of voices sounding at once.

"Hey guys!" Hermione yelled running into the main room. "Merry- Harry! Is that a wedding ring!" She screamed grabbing his hand. "He finally purposed to you!"

"Umm yeah…something like that," Harry grinned. He knew he wasn't going to get any answers out of the heir now until everyone else was gone.

(TBC)

What just happened, good question. I don't know myself. Tom went on a wild tangent and did what he wanted despite my better judgment. Oh well. As always, I'll be forced to clean up his mess in the next chapter. So please enjoy this long awaited chapter and yeah…see you in the next one. Now that school is out, should be updating.


	34. Finishing off Christmas

I'm not going to even start what's been going on. So a quick summary for the people who actually -. 1. I'm at a new college, this one fully art. It's driving me into a slow grave, the good news is, being forced now to draw, I want to write for fun instead of draw so I actually started writing updates again thank kami.

That's about it. It's been crazy, insane, I've been screaming, my hand hurts. I want to rip my hair out, but I'm just going to leave it at that.

Warnings: It's shonen ai

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 34: Finishing off Christmas

"It's beautiful," Hermione said one again holding Harry's ring up to the light. The Weasley parents' looked like they were about to throw up and Sirius looked very pale, but Harry had more important things to think about.

"Um yeah, it is," he said his eyes focused on Tom instead. Of course his boyfriend was now completely ignoring him, his attention on Draco and Ron.

"And on Christmas no less! How romantic!"

"Actually, he just through it at me," he said biting his tongue when he almost let slip the words 'and it almost caused me to get cursed,'

'I can't just pretend like nothing happened,' Harry thought to himself bitterly. What he wanted was an explanation. What he got was completely ignored. The Gryffindor had of course expected this from the second he'd heard his friends walk in the front door, but that didn't mean he was happy about that fact. 'Smashing that necklace could have killed him, so why…?' he asked himself tightening his grip around the necklace. There was no way he was about to give it up, not even if Tom wanted him to and the Slytherin knew that. So why had he acted so horrible?

"What are you doing?" Harry asked a second later. Ron was helping Tom shove Draco under the Christmas tree a red bow already placed on his head. Hermione and Krum seemed to have vanished at some point during Malfoy's kidnapping. 'How convenient,' Harry mentally sighed.

"Well, he stopped paying attention to us," Tom pouted.

"…." At a loss for words Harry walked across the living room and grabbed Draco out from the two's grasps. Draco looked quite relieved.

"Thanks," he muttered his face red.

"You're welcome," Harry replied almost automatically. It wasn't that he didn't care, his mind was just everywhere else, mostly on Tom and the necklace. "So what did you guys have in mind for today?" He hoped talking about their plans for the day may hopefully take his mind off the necklace.

"Didn't think about it. We weren't even sure if we were going to be able to make it over here with that ice storm last night," Draco admitted.

"So, what were you guys going to do if you couldn't make it?" Tom asked barely sounding interested at all. Harry had the distinct feeling that his boyfriend had hoped the storm would last all day so their friends couldn't make it.

"Honestly, we were just going to sit around and mess with our gifts," Draco said with a shrug. "There wasn't much else we could do."

"So we're stuck with the same problem we had yesterday?" Tom sighed. "And we already built a giant snowman."

"Well, what do you guys want to do now?" Harry asked. He didn't know what he wanted to do either actually. There wasn't exactly a myriad of choices laid out before them and worse yet, they couldn't safely even leave number twelve, not that he wanted to after the incident at the shop that morning. "No wonder Sirius nearly went mad," he said throwing his hand up in defeat.

"We could always go bother the house elf," Draco suggested until he saw the glare on Hermione's face as she reentered the room with Krum.

"Maybe they need help in the kitchen getting dinner ready?" Harry suggested hopefully. He'd never actually cooked a meal before in his life, but surely there was something the six of them could do and so the all headed into the kitchen only to be removed from it seconds later.

"WE DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!" Remus screamed before slamming the kitchen door shut causing all six of them to wince and part of the door frame to come off and crash onto the floor.

"I know I dropped a glass, but he's going over board," Ron muttered.

"You dropped it on his foot and it shattered there," Harry pointed out. He didn't blame Remus at all for his outburst, but he still wished the werewolf would have given them something to do before barricading himself in the kitchen with Sirius and Mrs. Weasley.

"I felt the house shake, is something wrong?" Dumbledore asked. He was standing in front of the entrance of the main room looking somewhat shaken. Harry had not seen the headmaster ever look disturbed like this, but that was probably the first time he'd ever heard Lupin scream at someone that way besides Sirius.

"We're bored!" Tom screamed walking away from Harry to his adoptive father. He grabbed the headmaster's arm tightly and tugged on it like he was a three year old. "What is there to do in this crazy old house?"

"Now, now Aderse," Dumbledore smiled dropping a hand onto Tom's head and patting him like a puppy. "I'm sure between the seven of us…" his voice trailed off seeing the six students' sour looks. "I know! Come along everyone," he said cheerfully. Without any explanation he started up the staircase, Tom dragged along with him.

None of them had any better ideas and so decided to follow the headmaster. Even if he had them in a room studying anything was better than this sheer boredom they kept running into.

When they made it up to the second floor landing Dumbledore motioned to his bedroom door and went in, the others soon following.

"Everyone, wash your hands," he pointed to the bathroom that connected to his room. They each took turns doing as they were told. When they finished they stood near a table in the middle of the headmaster's room and waited for further instructions. "Good. Now if you'd like, you may all pretend this is a potion lesson, but as most people call it," he waved his wand a huge bowl appearing in the middle of the table. "We'll be baking cookies."

"You're making us bake?" Tom asked sounding annoyed as usual.

"Tom, shut up. We need something to do and I doubt this could go badly," Harry jumped in. He was not about to get kicked out of two rooms in one day, especially not one that held something to amuse them.

"That's the spirit Harry!" Dumbledore cheered. He took the lid off the bowl, seven pans appearing around the table. "Now you have a choice. You can either mold them yourself or you can use these wonderfully charming metal things the muggles call cookie cutters that Mr. Weasley purchased for me."

"We can just use our wands," Tom pointed out looking that much more pissed off. Why he did, Harry couldn't even begin to understand, there was nothing at all wrong with cookie cutters as far as he was concerned.

"We're not old enough yet," Hermione reminded the Slytherin, not that he seemed to care.

"I made this cookie dough without using my wand, we can finish them just the same," Dumbledore said throwing a glare at Tom. "Don't make me take your wand until you're of age," he warned.

"D-"

Harry sensing danger slapped his hand over Tom's mouth.

"He just wants to test you, he really doesn't care," Harry said. 'Don't start something you're going to regret,' he finished screaming at Tom through the mental bond. "Can I have the bell?" he asked using his free hand to grab the Christmas bell cookie cutter.

"Ah, that's right, I'm sure you and Hermione have done this, why not show us how it is done?"

"Uh, sure," Hermione said brightly. "It's really easy; no one should have any problems." She looked around and frowned. "Umm sir, do you happen to have any flour we can use so the cookie dough won't stick?" She bit her lip nervously.

"Yes of course." Despite his no magic rule he used his wand again to summon a bag of flour from the kitchen.

"Thanks!" She took the bag and ripped a small hole on the side and put her hand in it pulling out a small handful of flour. She then sprinkled the flour over the area of the table they'd be cutting the cookies on. "Rolling pin, Harry," she said holding her non floured hand out to him. He picked up the tool and handed it to her. "Alright everyone watch," she instructed. She took a handful of dough this time, placed it onto the mat that'd been placed for them to cut the cookie dough on and then covered the rolling pin with flour. When she seemed satisfied with her work she placed the rolling pin on the dough and started flattening it out.

"Hey, I've seen my mum do this," Ron said watching her. He seemed happy to at least have knowledge about what was going on.

"So after it's good and flat," Hermione went on smashing the dough with the pin until it was only an inch thick. "Now for the fun part!" She grabbed a cookie cutter, this one a reindeer, and placed it onto the cookie dough and pushed. It went down making the cut and she removed the cutter, then using a spatula picked it up and placed it onto her pan. "And that's all there is to it!"

"That seems easy enough," Krum said slowly. He'd been practicing his English pronunciations with Hermione.

"Yeah, we shouldn't have any issues," Harry grinned hoping that if he repeated the words "it'll be okay" enough, then nothing really would go wrong in their lives. "Let's try!"

As so the cookie cutting fiasco started. At first Tom refused to even try, but when he saw how much fun the others were having he scowled and grabbed some dough.

"H, hey!" Tom said looking at his hand. "What happened?" He demanded. Both of his hands were entirely covered with the cookie dough and showing no signs of coming off.

"Calm down," Harry laughed. He grabbed a small amount of flour and dropped it onto Tom's hands. "Rub," he ordered him. His boyfriend did as he was told, the cookie dough mixing back together and falling onto the table. "Now roll it."

"You roll it," he whined giving Harry huge puppy eyes, the Gryffindor seriously wanting to beat him with the pin.

"Fine, but just this once,' Harry sighed. He shoved the heir out of the way and rolled the dough to one inch thick as Hermione had told them to do. Done he went back to his own dough then leaving Tom to his own devices or at least that had been the intention. Tom of course had other ideas even if they weren't quite intentional. He'd gotten the cookie dough cut, but upon trying to pick it up with his spatula he'd somehow managed to get the cookie dough stuck firmly to it. Even when he flipped the spatula upside down and beat it on the side of the pan the cookie still refused to budge.

"Harry," he whined again holding the spatula up and giving it a hard shake to show the Gryffindor his problem.

"How did you…never mind." Harry said unable to keep himself from laughing. "Alright fine, I'll help the poor future dark lord," Harry grinned. He took the spatula despite his boyfriend's glare and using some flour got the cookie somehow onto the pan safely. "Think of this powder as your source of magic to control the dough," Harry told him.

Despite the words, Harry ended up helping the Slytherin heir throughout the entire cookie dough cutting process. If Tom wasn't getting so frustrated every time he screwed up, Harry would have sworn he was doing it on purpose.

Two hours, not to mention all of them covered in flour later, they had finished. Everyone's pans filled with cookies in the form of Christmas decorations.

"I'll bake these now and we can decorate them afterwards," Dumbledore explained. He took two of the pans and slipped them into an oven that'd suddenly appeared in the back of the headmaster's room. "Shouldn't be too long," the headmaster said. "Perhaps an hour or-"

"An hour?" Tom raged. "We can't amuse ourselves for five minutes!"

"Well, we're not using magic to get them finished now," Harry cut in with a warning and glare directed at his boyfriend. "How about we try to decide what we want to decorate the cookies with?"

"Well, sprinkles and frosting of course," Hermione said slowly.

"And Candy," Ron said with a grin. "Mum sometimes put candy on them."

"Do we even have any of those things?" Harry asked the headmaster. He looked at them, frowned, and grabbing his cloak left the room leaving the six students alone and blinking.

They had to wait longer than the hour then, because Dumbledore left to get the muggle decorating ingredients only to get lost while out. Luckily Hermione took control of the oven and none of the cookies were burnt. The headmaster meanwhile made it back an hour and a half later covered in snow.

"Horrible storm coming," the headmaster said. He set the bags down with the decorating items and pulled his wand out to dry his robes.

"Coming? Looks like it's already here," Tom muttered looking out the window.

When Harry took the time to look out the window himself he had to agree. He no longer wondered how Dumbledore had managed to get lost. The snow was coming down so hard he doubted you could see an inch in front of your eyes.

"White out conditions," Harry said in agreement.

"Glad we're all here already," Hermione said.

"Might not be leaving," Harry pointed out. If the snow didn't show any signs of letting up chances are no one would be going anywhere for the rest of the day, perhaps even the night. They'd be trapped in number twelve until it did stop, not that that was really anything new. They were always trapped inside the large home while they were on vacation.

"Well, plenty of rooms should they need to stay," Dumbledore grinned. "Now how about attempting to decorate these delicious looking desserts?" he asked brightly.

They went to work, this time Tom not needing any help. The decorating didn't take even half as long as the cutting did and yet the finished results somehow were pieces of art. Harry looked down at his pan, his favorite one being an ornament cookie he had decorated to look like a golden snitch.

"Quite the artist Potter," Draco grinned. He was about to eat one of his own cookies when Hermione slapped his hand.

"These are for after dinner," she scolded him.

"Just one won't hurt!" Draco tried, but Hermione would hear nothing of it. She grabbed the pans one by one and sat them next to Dumbledore's bed.

"It will be bad enough! Leave them be!"

"She really sounds like my mum," Ron whispered to Harry causing said boy to laugh.

They actually ended up bickering the rest of the time, the headmaster of course just watching. Harry had no idea how long their fight went on, but sometime later Sirius walked in looking very uneasy as the seven all went silent and froze to look at who had entered the room. Had Draco not had his wand pointed at Hermione, Victor's at Ron, Harry holding Ron back, and tom sitting next to Dumbledore eating a cookie, it probably wouldn't have shocked the animagus so badly.

"Dinner's done," Sirius said when he had managed to gather himself.

"Tom!" Hermione whined when she turned around at the sound of his chewing. "I should have known something was wrong when you didn't jump in to help Harry," she growled.

"Yeah well, yes," he said finishing off what was left of the cookie.

"Tom," Harry laughing wishing he'd paid attention to his boyfriend so he could have snuck a cookie himself. "Let's go eat."

"Okay." He got up from the bed and threw his arms around Harry.

"We're going to behave at dinner," he warned him.

"Yeah," Harry grinned. 'Like you're one to talk," Harry mentally poked at him. When the Gryffindor looked up he noticed they were the last two in the room. "Come-"

"Here," Tom said handing him one of the cookies he'd made, a reindeer.

"I knew I loved you for a reason," Harry said biting into it. It tasted wonderful even though it was a simple sugar cookie with frosting on it. "Thanks." He kissed is boyfriend on the cheek and they headed down to the kitchen to eat.

(X)

Dinner went by uneventful, the storm eventually subsided and so everyone said their goodbyes, they'd all be back soon enough for Tom's birthday, so the goodbyes didn't last long. Afterwards Harry and Tom had showered then gone to bed, only Tom couldn't remain asleep even though Harry had managed to. The heir stared at the window until the snow began picking up once more. He was having no luck getting himself to drift off though and turned his back to the window.

Instead of wasting his entire night, he went downstairs and sat down in front of the Christmas tree on the couch. He was now sipping at a cup of hot chocolate lost in thought.

"Thinking about your birthday?" Tom looked up when he heard the words and merely stared at Dumbledore. "Mind if I sit down?" He asked smiling.

"Why should I care?" Tom asked looking away. Dumbledore could do whatever he wanted and would no doubt do so even if he said otherwise, why even bother protesting? Besides, it was too late for him to really care.

"Thank you." He took a seat beside Tom then saying noting. Even though this wasn't a bad thing, for some reason it annoyed Tom.

"Say something," he growled at him.

"Can't a father sit quietly with his son and stare thoughtfully at the Christmas tree?" He asked in a mock hurt tone.

"You never just sit with me, you're always having something to say," the heir said his eyes still glued onto the tree. Not once could he ever remember the headmaster remaining silent when he was around, why should this time be any different?

"Alas, it is the problem with knowing so much! Always so much to tell others." The headmaster started laughing then as the words left his mouth.

"You fool," Tom scolded shoving a cookie into Dumbledore's hand. "I forgot to give this to you earlier." The cookie was nothing special, just a circle, but Tom had taken the time to draw red and yellow on it with frosting.

"Why thank you," the headmaster said. He took a bite of the cookie. "Ah, what a wonderful treat!" he said happily.

"Good." Before he could think about his actions he put his cup of hot chocolate on the floor and leaned against his stepfather, eyes closed. "To-"

"You know my birthday is coming up and I should be happy," he started Dumbledore going silent. "But it's also the day my mother died, the same day I was completely abandoned in this world. I didn't even tell Harry when my birthday was to avoid any kind of a celebration of such a horrid day. Birthdays are supposed to be fun, mine is just a bunch of bad memories."

"Ah, but this is a time to be ignoring bad memories and actually celebrate for once! You'll be coming of age this year. You'll be able to ignore all my words and legally use as much magic as you want to protect Harry," the headmaster reminded him. Those thoughts Tom did enjoy, but there was still so much left to deal with. "Worry about it later. Surely after everything you've done today you must be tired."

"I can't," Tom admitted despite the drowsiness he was beginning to feel. "I was for a while, but the storm woke me up."

"And hot chocolate is going to help put you back to sleep?" The headmaster asked amused.

"Shut up," Tom said and before he knew it he was yawning.

(X)

There was a loud thumping noise and Harry woke up trying to find the source. When he saw nothing he was about to lie back down when he was met with an ear shattering crash, glass showering the entire room. Shocked he could only sit there on his bed at first, before his senses came back and he grabbed both his wand and glasses in one movement and ran for the bedroom door. At this point he remembered his boyfriend and turned back into the room.

"Tom!" "He stopped short taking notice of two things. One, Tom was nowhere to be seen and the shattered glass now covering the bedroom was only his window breaking from a tree branch. "Oh," he said shaking his head. While he was glad it was just a broken window and nothing else, the window didn't tell him where his missing boyfriend was.

Frowning he walked out of the room and down the hall. He was somewhat surprised when no one came running to his aid. Even if his scream didn't attract anyone, the shattering of the window should have. Even so he kept walking until he saw that the Christmas tree was still lit. Walking down the steps he stopped in the living room where he found Tom and Dumbledore asleep together on the couch and had to hold back a laugh. He'd never seen Tom asleep so peacefully, he hoped that his boyfriend was this much at ease when they were sleeping together.

"Harry?" The Gryffindor turned around Sirius staring at him in horror. "You're covered in blood! What happened?"

"The window in my room, a branch went through it. There's glass everywhere."

"Including your face!" He grabbed the Gryffindor by the wrist leading him into the kitchen. "Should have some ointment somewhere." He started going through the cabinets. "I know it's in here! I had to use it the other day."

Silently Harry just sat there and watched. What he really wanted to do was go back into the living room where Tom and Dumbledore were sleeping on the couch and watch them. He was about to ask for a camera when he remembered the photo album Tom had given him last Christmas and inwardly started snickering. He had his blackmail.

"Here!" Sirius screamed snapping Harry out of his thoughts. He opened the container and applied the healing ointment as he removed the glass pieces stuck in Harry's cheek. "Have to fix that before everything gets snowed on," he muttered.

Harry nodded in agreement only wincing when his godfather removed a piece of glass. He should have been used to small amounts of pain to the point he didn't even notice it anymore, but of course he had no such luck.

"All done," his godfather smiled half an hour later. The Gryffindor had, had no idea there had been so much glass stuck in his face.

"Thanks." He got out of the chair waiting while Sirius put the ointment away. The two of them headed up to Harry's room so Sirius could fix the window. Harry of course had stopped in the living room to get one more view of the two sleeping wizards before meeting his godfather up stairs.

"Wow," was all Sirius said when he lit the lamps in the room. The entire bedroom was covered in glass not a single piece left in the window frame. "You sure it was just a tree branch?"

"I didn't see anything else. I woke up to a thud, I guess the tree hitting it, but the wind kept picking up-" he frowned looking around the room. Not a single part of it had been left uncovered and he wondered if there was even enough glass from the window to possibly produce this much of a mess.

"I think we should have you switch rooms," Sirius said. He tapped the window all the glass vanishing from the floor and replacing itself back into the window frame save for a few spots, which Harry guessed had been the pieces stuck in his face. "Mess with it tomorrow." He grabbed Hedwig's cage and motioned for Harry to follow him.

Sirius took Basilisk's cage and the two went down the hall until they were only three bedrooms away from Lupin and Sirius' own.

"You should be fine here, no windows," he explained cheerfully.

Harry was about to ask why, but thought better of it and said his thanks and good night. This room was slightly bigger than the one he'd just left and also contained a fireplace. Grinning he walked over to the bed after making sure both owls were comfortable and plopped down onto the dark purple comforter and about ten very soft purple pillows.

He stretched out, his body not even being able to cover the entire bed and let out a contented sigh. Sure he was alone in bed, so what? He could actually sleep without having to worry about being raped. This thought seemed wonderful to him until he realized he was now wide awake.

Knowing he wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon he walked back to his old room to find a book he could read until he fell asleep. He opened his trunk and started going through it. He'd read just about every book in it and didn't feel like starting any of the new ones he'd gotten that morning.

Letting out a sigh he closed his trunk his eye's falling onto Tom's. He wasn't sure if he should, but he decided he was going to anyway, it wasn't like his boyfriend gave him any privacy. His mind made up he popped open the Slytherin's trunk and began rummaging through it. Inside he found a number of random objects, a couple of rings, a necklace like the one Harry had only no moon, a bunch of robes, first aid kit, in other words nothing out of the ordinary or rather, nothing interesting. He then noticed a pile of books towards the back of the trunk and pulled them out.

Most of the books had to do with potions, a few on counter curses and jinxes. He was about to put them all away when he saw a black bound book, no title, and a small box still in the trunk that'd been beside the book. He'd never seen Tom with either of these items and so he made it his job to figure out what they were.

He put the box to the side wanting to check the book out first and opened it. He flipped to the first chapter and read the title. "How to conquer dark situations". Harry was about to start reading when he heard a noise from down stairs. Panicking he shoved everything back into the trunk where it had originally been, grabbed some owl nuts off the dresser and ran for the new bedroom. With any luck it had just been Sirius or Kreacher or anyone who wasn't his boyfriend doing something.

When he made it back to the room he slammed the door shut, threw some owl nuts into the cages and jumped onto the bed to try and pretend he was asleep. Even if he didn't regret going through Tom's trunk, he really hadn't found anything, he didn't need to be caught in the act of doing it.

As he lied there though with his eyes closed, his breath even, no one ever actually entered the room. Feeling somewhat courageous he poked Tom through the bond, the Slytherin was fast asleep.

"Huh?" Was all he could say. If anything he must have been paranoid and nothing more. Laughing at his out stupidity he allowed himself to relax. If his boyfriend was still asleep he could go back to the room and take another look at that book, which is exactly what he'd intended to do. However upon arriving in the bedroom his courage gave way and instead he grabbed the photo album from his drawer and headed back to the room. After he'd made sure the door was firmly shut he'd gotten back onto the bed and flipped to the first blank page he could find. Pulling his wand out he tapped the page, an evil grin on his face. "Show me my memories," he said the images of Tom fast asleep with Dumbledore filling the next eight or so spots. "He's going to kill me for this," he laughed looking up at both owls that were looking back at him. "Me, not you guys," he assured them with a laugh.

He flipped the page with the intent of putting another page of Tom and Dumbledore asleep when he noticed a single photo already on it. Frowning he squinted trying to get a better look, it was fuzzy, but he could still make out a few details. It was a photo of him and Tom, but they were younger, much younger.

"How…?" He rubbed his eyes and looked harder. The image became somewhat clearer and he could make out the two of them laughing, Harry was blushing and they were standing in front of some kind of booth. "Is that…that's from the Quidditch cup…isn't it?" he asked aloud. "But I didn't meet Tom until…what's going on?"

(TBC)

Alright, this took a really long time…as it always does. I'm so sorry guys as usual, but here's an update. I hope you guys can enjoy it.


	35. The Seventeenth Birthday

Okay, I managed to get through chapter 34 and I am SO extremely very sorry at how long this is taking.

Notes: (X)Is pov change and or time jump

Warnings:It's shonen ai, Harry and Tom are dating

Chapter, 35: The seventeenth birthday

"How dare you?" Tom screamed.

"Oh come on, you two look adorable!" Harry laughed the photo album clutched tightly to his chest protectively. The Slytherin had tried to remove the page already and burn it, not that Harry was going to let that happen.

"I'm hot, not adorable," Tom, countered. Harry begged to differ with his photographic evidence, but was too busy laughing to say anything. Instead, he moved a step back from the heir. Harry had waited until the morning of Tom's birthday to show him the pictures of him sleeping with Dumbledore on the couch. He thought it would be an amusing way to wake him up for his special day, but the Gryffindor had forgotten to calculate in the death that was sure to follow upon his doing something like this.

"You're both," Harry attempted after he'd managed to catch his breath. He didn't care how angry the Slytherin was, he wouldn't be handing over the photo album any time soon, not while it was in danger, not to mentioned full of adorable Tom pictures as well as that one he'd yet to bring to his boyfriend's attention…

"No," Tom hissed taking a step forward.

"I really like it! If you leave it alone I'll do anything you want!" Harry knew well beforehand that he shouldn't utter those words, but he also knew that if he didn't make a deal, the second the album was out of his hand it would be gone forever.

"Anything?" The Slytherin asked with a smirk.

"I'll even sleep with you tonight," he said his face turning bright red. "I want these pictures!"

"You really like it huh?" Tom asked suddenly behind Harry and he had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The heir was looking over his shoulder at the photos before he finally let out a sigh. "Fine, keep them. I won't even make you do anything." He smirked.

Despite those words, Harry knew better than to believe his boyfriend. Even so he wasn't about to push his luck and nodded. Before the heir could change his mind, he shoved the picture album into his trunk and locked it.

"So what do you want to do today?" Harry asked him brightly. He was determined to give his boyfriend a great birthday since no one had ever mentioned it to him the year before and thus no celebration. Even more of a reason was due to the fact that Tom was coming of age this birthday. "Dumbledore's helping make your cake so…we really have nothing to do," Harry said wondering why the headmaster was suddenly so interested in baking. Perhaps he was as bored as they were lately. "Anything at all?" he asked almost begging. They were such a dangerous duo when they were bored.

"Burn the album?"

"No!" Harry screamed winning a laugh from his boyfriend.

"I don't know maybe we should try to get out of number twelve? Get a 'body guard' and look around town?" He suggested.

"That'd be fine, if I hadn't already run into a killer a few days ago." Harry felt bad that they couldn't just walk out the front door, granted, even if Tom wasn't involved with Harry, he would still be getting held hostage with him in number twelve considering Dumbledore was his stepparent.

"True," tom sighed. He looked around the room, grabbed Harry by the hand and led him to the bed. When they got there, he dragged Harry onto it. "We spend time together?"

"Sounds good," Harry, grinned. He wrapped his arms around Tom's neck and lied down on top of him. He closed his eyes his smile growing. He hadn't given it much thought, but it had been awhile since the two of them had just lied down in bed together and relaxed, especially alone. "How long do you want to stay here?"

"As long as we can get away with it," Tom said, Harry could just see the smirk on his face.

"Good," Harry muttered. Of course, what he really wanted to do was question Tom about the last photo that'd shown up in his album the other day, but then he'd been trying to find a good time to ask him since he'd seen it. Harry had yet to find such a time and doubted there would ever be one, because whenever anything that related to their past was brought up, especially Tom's, the heir was instantly angered.

'He is kind of in a good mood,' Harry thought with a small smile. Even if he angered the heir right now as soon as Tom saw the ring, he'd gotten him, he'd forgive him. 'Best to start this off slowly though,' he told himself. Testing the waters inch by inch would definitely be a lot safer than jumping in headfirst.

"You know what I can't wait for?" Harry asked nuzzling the heir's neck. "The next Quidditch World Cup. It'll be great to go with everyone this time. It won't be for another two years, but being there with you, and Sirius…not wanting to kill Draco while he attempts to ruin the entire day," he laughed. Harry was about to go on when he noticed Tom's entire body had tensed up beneath him. Frowning Harry sat up and looked down at his boyfriend. "Oh come on, I know you hate the game, but you're going to come with us aren't you?" He asked giving him a look with the biggest puppy eyes he could manage. "I don't think I'd be able to enjoy it unless you were there with me."

"I hate Quidditch!" Tom growled trying to push Harry off, but he wasn't about to give in so easily. "Why would I go to some stupid tournament about a game that I hate so much?" He demanded after failing to get Harry off of him.

"Just to go with me," Harry said grabbing the Slytherin's closest hand. "I don't like going places without you, I always end up attacked." Harry's choice of words seemed to be the last straw. The heir shoved him hard to the side, Harry almost flying off the bed, Tom climbing off it.

"I'm not some kind of good luck charm!"

"No, you're my boyfriend, which usually results in you protecting me," Harry smiled at him. Perhaps if he didn't fight back, but kept talking and played on the heir's pride they wouldn't end up killing each other.

"A lot of good I've done recently!"

"You've done fine-"

"I heard about what happened Christmas night! Instead of letting me lie next to some old man you should have come and got me!"

Harry blinked again. He was mad about the glass shattering and not about him bringing up the Quidditch World Cup? Or was he really mad about both and using the broken window to get the subject changed?

"I wasn't a big deal. Sirius pulled the glass out, used some ointment on the cuts that was the end of it."

"But I should have been the one helping, not him!" Tom folded his arms across his chest glaring.

"You can't be jealous that my godfather helped me!" Harry screamed back his plan to remain calm completely destroyed. "He happened to hear the glass shatter and came to check on me! There was no point in waking you up!"

"Yeah, because I can't do anything to help you!" He screamed storming out of the room.

Harry sat on the bed a minute until he realized what had just happened. The emotion coming from their bond was one of relief, not seething rage, as it should have been. In other words, his boyfriend had used the fight in order to get Harry's thoughts off the world cup, which could mean only one thing. The heir knew something Harry didn't and it was no doubt related to that day. Harry couldn't remember anything however about Tom being in his fourth year.

"He did mention he helped me in the graveyard," Harry said aloud. How many other pieces was he missing? Wanting to see if he had any kind of backed up luck he unlocked his trunk and pulled the photo album out. He took his wand out then focusing as hard as he could on the world cup when he was in the stands cheering. "Show me my memories," he said, more ordering the book than anything.

He checked over the new photos, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. 'But he wouldn't have been with us would he…' he thought, a bad feeling in his stomach forming. He didn't want to believe he was missing a whole year of his memories with Tom. Thinking back to where he'd run into Draco at the world cup he tapped the album again repeating the words.

This time an image of Draco and Harry squaring off came into view as well as an extremely blurry image of Tom watching them and looking quite amused. Unsure of how to take this Harry slammed the album shut, threw it back into his trunk and locked it.

"We met in my fourth year," he said somewhat unsteadily. "What happened? Why did everyone need their memories charmed between my fourth and fifth year?"

"You know, the point of a tantrum is to get attention. Why didn't you chase after me?" The heir asked coming back into the room and pouting. "I made it down both flights of stairs before I realized you weren't coming."

A game. This fight and how many others were just to keep Harry from remembering anything? The very word Quidditch made the Slytherin scream, were these all-different ways he tricked Harry into losing his focus?

"Yeah, but why give you the satisfaction?" He asked with an evil grin. All those things Tom had hinted at about Harry hating him for his past, what if the past he were talking about was just a few years prior and not as long back as Harry thought? "You know I love you," he said looking at him.

"Today's my birthday, why won't you play?" he whined throwing himself back onto the bed beside Harry.

"I was just thinking," Harry, said wrapping his arms tightly around the heir so he wouldn't be able to run. "Do you really think our pasts are going to destroy your futures?"

"…we are who we are, because of our pasts. Without them we have no future to begin with," he replied somberly. "So yes, the very thing that constructs are future can easily destroy it."

Harry let out a long sigh then. What Tom was saying made a lot of sense, but that didn't mean it had to be completely true. Even when he promised to not get angry with his boyfriend for learning something new about him, he often times had done just that, but not all the time. If Tom weren't so crazy though maybe he wouldn't have to get so angry about all the things he used to do.

"I can't promise I won't get mad about everything I learn, but I'm not going to leave you," he finally said lacing his fingers with Tom's own. It was the only thing he could think of saying.

"Yeah, you told me." Despite his boyfriend's arrogant tone, his grip was tight.

"I'm not going to push this right now, but I want to know in the end."

They lied there in silence for what seemed like hours, but were really minutes. Tom's party wouldn't be until much later so most of the day was theirs to enjoy. It wasn't as nice as it originally had been, but it was okay. Both of them knew there was a secret being withheld from Harry and even with the agreement not to mention anything else about it, they were left in an awkward silence.

"We should find something to do," Harry said forcing himself off the bed. "So we've hit a rough spot, you know what, let's just get over it." He was about to say something else when his common sense died. "Does Draco know?" He asked turning on him.

"Huh?"

"Does Draco know what I don't," Harry asked again. Draco owed him big time, if he knew. Harry was sure he could corner him and get some kind of information.

"About what?"

"About anything!"

"I thought we agreed not to talk about this," Tom sighed sitting up.

"I did, but I just want to know if you trust Draco more than me."

"How can you even think that?" Tom asked looking at him, the look in his eye saying he was somewhat hurt by Harry's accusation. He glared at him for a moment before letting out another sigh and running a hand through his hair. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"My fourth year," Harry said instantly. He didn't care that all of his boyfriend's blood seemed to have left his face. It wasn't his problem. A person, no anyone, could only take so much and Harry decided this was his breaking point. "I want to know what you are so afraid of, what happened?"

"I'm not telling you that, but…" He tilted his head slightly his brows knitted as they always were when he was trying to figure out a way to get out of something. "What is ev-" He went silent as Harry dropped the photo album on his lap, a photo of him watching Harry and Draco fighting at the Quidditch world cup. "I knew I shouldn't have given you this thing," he muttered eyeing it. When he seemed to be finish looking it over he slammed the album shut. "Draco doesn't remember everything," he admitted moments later. "He knows something went wrong, but really Dumbledore's spell has been tightly locked in place."

"So who knows more?" Harry demanded. He wasn't going to feel right until he knew the truth, even though that truth was no doubt going to drive him nuts.

"…He does," the Slytherin said looking away. "I needed someone I could trust and I was too embarrassed to go back to you!"

"Embarrassed? You Embarrassed?" Harry asked holding back a laugh. "When have you ever?"

"Today's my birthday; can't I enjoy it without living the horror of my past?"

Harry wanted so badly to know what his boyfriend was hiding, what Draco knew, but at the same time, he couldn't do it. He could not bring himself to depress his boyfriend on his birthday, it just wasn't right. He could drive him into a suicidal state some other time of the year.

"Alright," he said attempting a smile. Failing he just gave a shrug and crawled over to his boyfriend on the bed. "I don't know what to do now," he said honestly. All of his plans had been around the idea of forcing his boyfriend into talking about every little detail until there were no secrets between the two.

"You're not going to let this drop are you?"

"No," Harry said suddenly feeling a smile tugging on his lips. He couldn't begin to understand why, but it didn't quite matter anymore. Tom had his arms tightly wrapped around Harry and he himself was quietly in that embrace his eyes closed, his breathing even. So what if there were some insane secrets between them right now. They'd get it cleared up eventually.

(X)

The others showed up of course and dinner proceeded just as it was supposed to. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and Harry was shocked that they actually made it through a single celebration without any screaming and yelling. No one fought, not a single insult was thrown, and it was almost like a complete treaty had been signed in order to keep Tom's temper in check.

The thought made Harry smile. When Snape handed Sirius a roll, his godfather even saying thank you without choking he knew the adults in the room were up to something, at least that was his initial feeling until he realized the real reason.

"Well Tom," Dumbledore said standing up suddenly and getting everyone's attention drawn to him. "You are now of age…my son has finally reached the age where I can no longer tell him what to do…a full-fledged wizard," he said holding his hand out to Tom. When the Slytherin made no move to get up, Dumbledore grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him up beside him. "We can now officially welcome Tom Dumbledore to the Order of the Phoenix." He handed Tom a piece of paper and everyone at the table started clapping loudly and cheering.

Tom stared down at the paper saying nothing. He looked up gave his stepfather a quick nod and nearly bolted back to his chair besides Harry.

'What was that?' Harry asked through the mental bond. He was curious about the swirling emotions going through his boyfriend's mind, embarrassment tinged with extreme happiness.

'It's…,' He turned to look at Harry and handed him the piece of paper under the table.

Raising an eyebrow Harry took it and unfolded the paper that his boyfriend had somehow managed to turn into a small square in the time it took him to get from the front of the dinner table to his seat. It actually took the Gryffindor longer to unfold it, smooth it out and attempt to read it than it took for Dumbledore's entire speech.

'What is this?" Harry finally asked shoving the wrinkled piece of paper back at his boyfriend. 'I can barely read it thanks to you.'

'He had my name legally changed from Riddle to Dumbledore,' he said somewhat quietly. 'He didn't ask me…'

'That's great!' Harry said wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. 'I meant the fact that he changed it not that he didn't ask you,' he added seeing the look his boyfriend was giving him.

'I don't know how I feel about it,' he said quietly. 'I should be happy-'

'You are happy,' Harry cut in. 'Maybe you don't feel it, but I do.'

'I guess.'

"So now you're a Dumbledore!" Sirius screamed seemingly coming out of nowhere. He slapped Tom hard on the back causing the boy's chest to slam into the tableside, which of course resulted in the Slytherin death glaring the animagus.

"That doesn't mean you have an excuse now to kill me," he hissed.

"You know I didn't think you'd make it! I really thought you'd betray us all and we'd have to kill you!"

Harry and Tom stared at him.

"That's my boyfriend," Harry said once some of the shock had subsided. "We aren't killing him even if he betrays us that will be my job."

"Well we don't have to worry about any of it now!" Sirius beamed and walked off. No one else in the room seemed to have heard the exchange, all of them talking to one another about their new member.

"How nice of him," Harry said somewhat amused. He wrapped his hand around Tom's and decided too much excitement was not what his boyfriend needed right now. He led him out of the kitchen into the living room where they sat down, of course on the couch next to the Christmas tree that was still up upon their request. Even though they could hear the others from within the kitchen talking, it was nice to have it at least muffled. "You're alright with it aren't you?"

"I guess," Tom, said resting his head on Harry's shoulder. "I've never once thought of changing my last name."

"Just your first," Harry said even though that fact was completely obvious. He felt like it was somehow important to say it though. "Does that mean I have to change my name to Dumbledore too when we marry?" He asked blinking. He'd never thought about being called Harry Dumbledore, Riddle a lot yes, but never Dumbledore.

"I don't know," Tom growled. "I don't even know if I want his last name. I mean it's a nice offer, but I like my name. I'm trying to redeem it," he said starting to sound annoyed. "Who is he-?"

"Wait you changed your last name too," Harry cut in frowning down at him. "You were Aderes K…something," the Gryffindor blinked, he couldn't remember the last name anymore.

"That's not the point," Tom said sitting back up so he wasn't being looked down on. "It was my choice."

"And you think Dumbledore's a worse last name than what you had?"

"Of course not!"

"I wouldn't worry about it then."

The two of them locked stares, but oddly enough, Tom was the one to give in first instead lying his head down on Harry's lap this time.

"It doesn't matter," he said after a few more moments. "You're completely right, I've been using a fake name for so long, what does it matter if it's legal now?"

"And yet it bothers you," Harry snickered. While the heir was definitely stating the facts, he was not exactly accepting those facts. As far as the Gryffindor was concerned though, a name was a name and his boyfriend wasn't going to change due to a switch in last names. What he was truly worried about was how his boyfriend would act being the first one in their group becoming a full-grown wizard. The hell his boyfriend might unleash with none of them able to do a thing terrified him at times.

"It's merely an annoyance," he said, but the look on his face said different. Still laughing Harry bent over and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek.

"Please just behave."

"Like you do?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Does that mean as long as I'm not caught and I'm doing it for "the good of the people" I can do whatever I want?"

"No, it means you don't kill anyone and drive the rest of us mad while we try to keep you in check," Harry replied flatly. He should have known things weren't going to be easy. No, the heir had no doubt been plotting for this day for years, every witch and wizard usually did. Now that it was here, the Gryffindor definitely had reason to worry. "Tom, I mean it."

"I know, I know," he waved his hand in the air. "So I'll behave. My biggest concern is being able to use my powers now so I can keep you safe. I can legally take out my wand and defend you."

"When have you ever let the underage magic law stop you?" Harry asked. Not once had he ever heard his boyfriend question himself about it, in fact, Harry wondered from time to time if Tom was even aware their society had a law against witches and wizards of a certain age using magic.

"Sometimes," the heir pouted. "Once I almost didn't get to you in time-"

"Don't lie to him," Draco said entering the room holding a piece of cake. "They're in there cutting it; you might want to get yours before it's all gone."

"HEY! I was supposed to get the first piece!" Tom screamed getting to his feet and running into the kitchen. Harry remained on the couch for a second blinking before he looked up at Draco and shrugged. Full age or not, he was still a child when it came to treats.

"Must be Dumbledore's upbringing," Draco said shaking his head slightly.

"It had to have been," Harry said trying to hold back a laugh, but failed. "He looked like a little kid going after his birthday cake."

"He is a little kid," Draco pointed out. Harry couldn't get himself to disagree. While his boyfriend may look old enough and be physically the right age to be an adult wizard, his mental state was nowhere near that mark. The heir came back in the room minutes later holding two paper plates, each one containing cake.

"Yours," The heir said brightly handing Harry one of the plates. "Mine." He sat down on the couch, pulled out the forks he'd brought from his robe pocket and handed one to Harry. "Mine has a snake head on it!" He showed it to Harry, the icing snakehead baring its fangs at him.

"How nice…" Harry said with a grin. Finally, his boyfriend was starting to enjoy his birthday and all it had really taken to make him happy was birthday cake. Harry made a mental note to keep in mind that his boyfriend was as easily manipulated as Dumbledore when it came to sweets. "Happy birthday."

"You already said that."

"I'm telling you again," Harry, said shaking his head slightly. "I'm sure you've heard it so many times today you want to scream."

"…Yes," The heir admitted leaning against Harry. "It's been a thought."

"Well don't," Harry, reminded him. "Yes, we're all being driven insane slowly by the fact you are now a full fledge wizard as far as age goes, but we're dealing with it."

"Thanks for the support," he muttered. Draco laughed.

"What else are boyfriends for?" Harry asked with a grin. "Don't answer that," he warned the heir when he opened his mouth to reply. Not wanting to risk it he speared a piece of his cake and shoed it into the Slytherin's mouth. "Chew," he ordered him the Slytherin glaring. "What?"

"Nothing," the heir managed after he'd swallowed the piece. "I just prefer chocolate."

"Never hurts to try something different."

The words earned a scowl from the heir, which Harry couldn't even being to understand why. He decided his boyfriend was just in one of those moods and shrugged when Draco looked at him questioningly.

(X)

"Okay, here." Harry said pulling out the wrapped box he'd manage to obtain with Lupin's help. The flicker of emotion through their bond told Harry that the heir had, had a feeling this would be happening sometime that day. "Just take it."

"Measured my finger while I was sleeping hmm?" the heir asked smirking.

That of course was exactly what Harry had done, but it wasn't like he was ashamed of it. He'd wanted to make sure the ring fit if Tom ever did decide to wear it and he wasn't about to be accused of not caring enough to take the time and get his boyfriend's measurements.

"If I have to wear one, you do too," Harry said firmly. The heir seemed to think this over for a second before shaking his head. "What?"

"I have a better idea," he explained. He pulled Harry towards him on the bed so they were both looking at the rose he'd bought the Gryffindor for his birthday. He removed the ring from Harry's finger and then opened the gift box so he was holding his own. "At least it's presentable," he grinned at the Gryffindor.

"Don't make me angry this late at night," Harry groaned. He didn't feel like trying to patch things up at eleven at night or worse, try and sleep without his boyfriend beside him. He never got decent amounts of sleep when his boyfriend was nowhere to be found.

"I'm not," he assured the Gryffindor kissing him on the neck. He held both rings in one hand and placed them in the pot the rose had been placed in to grow. The rose shimmered for a few seconds, the rings transfiguring to wrap around the stem and thorns. It was beautiful to say the least, almost like the rose itself has gotten gold and silver flakes thrown on it. It glittered brightly before it finally calmed down to a dim light. "Much better."

"I hope that can be undone," Harry muttered. He wasn't going to disagree that the rose was beautiful and he enjoyed not having to wear both a ring and a necklace, but what if he did want to wear it at some point? What if he wanted to just hold it for a few minutes?

"Of course it can. Think of it as a jewelry box," the heir snickered. "Now as much as I like the gift, I'm sure you could think of a better one."

"I had a feeling that's what you'd want," Harry said lying down on his back. He had really hoped to get this done and over with sooner, as horrible as that sounded, but the Weasley's hadn't left until a half hour ago and they'd only just gotten into their bedroom a few minutes before hand.

"Don't make this seem like a chore," the heir scolded him. "You're supposed to be enjoying this too you know."

"Well I'm not just as concerned about this sort of thing as you are. I don't care if we sleep with each other. It's not a big deal to me. I'm perfectly happy with just sleeping beside you."

"You're making me sound like the bad guy here."

"You are the bad guy," Harry grinned at him. "You always have been, now let's get this over with so I can go to sleep."

"You've completely ruined the mood you know," he said lowering himself on top of Harry so his face was inches from the Gryffindor's own. "Why are you so against this?"

"I'm not against it, I just don't care."

"So how do I make you care?" The heir asked almost pouting. "I want you to have as much fun as I do."

The Gryffindor merely shrugged at that. He didn't know what it would take for him to actually want to sleep with his boyfriend. It wasn't that he disliked it anymore he just couldn't get himself to waste energy on the thought. He was too busy trying to keep up with everything else in his life.

"Perhaps…" the heir said a moment later a smile creeping onto his face. "Perhaps you don't like playing nice? Maybe we should try something new?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked his eyes narrowing.

"You'll see," he hissed at him.

(TBC)

Close enough.


	36. Moving Backwards

Okay off to chapter 36 now. I just put up chapter 35, what are the chances I can get this one done quickly and get it up before New Year? Not likely, but let's see if I can do it anyway.

Warnings: For the love of anything and all, if you are not aware of the fact that this story is slash, yaoi, shonen ai, has gay guys in it; please get your head examined.

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 36: Moving Backwards

The rest of their vacation had gone smoothly or as smoothly as anything could go with the heir and Sirius sharing close quarters. After Dumbledore had left to further his mission for the order Sirius had driven Harry's boyfriend nuts about his newly obtained last name. That however was not the only reason Harry was so happy to be back in the castle. This was his home away from home after all and seeing his four-poster bed just made him that much happier. He closed the distance from the door to his bed and fell down on top of it.

"Happy to be back?" Ron asked dropping his traveling cloak onto his bed.

"You bet," Harry, grinned from his bed. "I love spending time with Sirius and Lupin, but I feel like I've got my own room back."

"Yeah, it's nice to be here, no brothers," Ron agreed. He climbed onto his own bed looking over the edge at Harry. "So where's your shadow?"

"He found out Dumbledore was stopping in this afternoon and locked himself in his office." Harry didn't even want to think of the hell his boyfriend was no doubt causing. He knew Tom had probably sent the gargoyles to an early grave, but then again. If they were lucky at all, maybe he'd start playing with Fawkes and the castle would manage to remain standing for a few more hours. "Draco?"

"In the infirmary getting a checkup. His throat is still a bit messed up."

Harry couldn't help wincing at that. He'd completely forgotten what had happen the few days before their vacation had started. It was probably his way of coping, but he wasn't about to get into that right now.

"So how did you manage to ditch your godfather and his boyfriend?"

"Who do you think Tom is giving a nervous breakdown?" The two of them started laughing at that. Even if the heir was a full-fledged wizard, it didn't seem like he'd changed at all. Harry had been worried for nothing it seemed. "So did you tell your parents you were dating Draco?"

"Of course not!" Ron shouted his face going red. "I can't! I mean…you should see the looks they give me sometimes for just being friends with him. Fred and George found out though…"

"How did they react?" Harry asked fully interested now.

"Took it pretty well…" He said staring up at the ceiling now. "And they're now blackmailing me."

"Into what?"

"Test dummy of course," Ron, sighed.

"I HATE YOUR FAMILY!" Tom roared coming into the room and slamming the door shut behind him. The items on the nearest side table by the door crashed onto the floor.

"Tom's back," Harry said rolling his eyes. "And why is my family so horrible now?"

"Don't slam the doors like that! Do you know how expensive they are?" Sirius screamed coming in behind the heir seconds later.

"They're two hundred galleons each," Tom snapped taking his spot beside Harry. "My father owns this place remember?"

"What's going on you two?" The Gryffindor asked sitting up. He was pretty disappointed that his quiet time with his best friend had been cut short already.

"Your "boyfriend," Sirius said obvious disgust dripping from the word, "tried to remain locked in Dumbledore's office and wasn't going to allow anyone in."

"I was going to allow my "FATHER" in," Tom corrected him stressing the word father. "It wouldn't be the first time I've locked myself in there."

"Right…" Harry just shook his head. They were back at Hogwarts for sure, but Sirius and Lupin were still going to be around no doubt until school ended. "What's that?" Harry asked noticing a piece of paper in the heir's robe. He grabbed it before Tom could react and unfolded it. "Another meeting?"

"Yeah," Tom said folding his arms across his chest. "That's what I wanted to ask Dumbledore about. This fool however got in the way."

"Don't call Sirius a fool," Harry said as he had so many other times before. He often wondered if it was even worth uttering those words anymore. Tom was going to be Tom and scream it out every chance he got, and Sirius was going to be Sirius…and do things that actually made him deserve to be called a fool in the first place. Letting out a sigh he dropped back down on the bed his eyes closed.

"Don't ignore me!" Tom whined instantly.

"Fine, what time is our meeting tonight?"

"…Around five," Tom said sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Right after the feast," Harry groaned understanding Tom's feelings. They were going to be stuffed with food and then sent on some crazy adventure with Dumbledore into the past to face things half-asleep.

"Well, I'm not skipping it," Tom said looking determined as ever. It only lasted a second though, instead he ended up next to Harry stretched out on the bed.

"Don't you have your own bed?" Sirius asked. He was standing in front of Harry's bed now looking down at them, his arms now folded across his chest.

"I can't sleep without Tom next to me," Harry said defensively. "The other day I put up with it, because he was with his dad." He wrapped his arms around Tom's arm. "Why are you so against me dating a guy? You're practically married to Lupin."

"It's not because he's a guy!" Sirius snapped his face a deep crimson. "It's the fact that this, this thing is Voldemort!"

"Thing?" Tom repeated his eyes narrowing.

"Sirius…I think we already went over this, but I'm going to say it again. I love both of you and I'm not going to give up either one of you. So here's what's going to happen. Both of you shut up," he said flatly. "You get over the fact I'm dating a Slytherin and you get over the fact I'm a Gryffindor," Harry said pointing at each of them in turn. "I am so sick of the fighting, who cares? Tom has saved my life a lot; doesn't that mean anything to you Sirius?"

"O, of course it does!" Sirius said.

"And Tom, Sirius is the one family member that loves me, doesn't that count for anything? You've seen how the Dursleys treated me."

"Yes," Tom said scowling.

"Then can't we agree to just get along?"

Sirius and Tom of course just stared at each other, or rather glared.

"If you two won't stop fighting I'm going to stop coming home and I'm going to break up with you. I'll go move in with Ron."

"We're sorry!" They both screamed each one grabbing one of Harry's arm. Harry had, had a feeling that might work. He knew Sirius wouldn't be happy with him being raised with Mrs. Weasley and for Tom; well he was still glaring at Draco when he heard about his and Harry's summer vacation.

"Thank you," he said not bothering to look at either of them. "You're both very important to me; I don't want to have to choose, so if I do, I'm getting rid of both of you."

"He's the one trying to break us up!"

"I don't want to hear it," Harry said sitting up. "I'm serious you guys. I don't care if you're joking around, but oh forget it." He stood up jerking Tom up with him.

"He, hey!"

"Quiet," Harry hissed getting the heir's attention. Tom stared at him his head tilted to the side. Harry on the other hand just stood there glaring at them. When neither his godfather nor boyfriend made a move, he let out a long breath and shoved Tom at Sirius who barely had time to catch him before the heir collided with him.

"What are you doing?" Sirius demanded. "You can't just throw this thing at me!"

"That thing-"

"HEY!-"

"Is my boyfriend," Harry growled. "This is ending right now. I want you two to hug." The entire room went silent at that, Tom and Sirius both looking as if Harry had just cast an unforgivable at both of them. "I mean it, now. We're going to get over our differences I want you two to be friends at least. We are family."

"I'm not family with him!" Tom said looking away. "My family is you, Dumbledore, and McG…I mean…." His voice trailed off and he refused to say anything more.

"No Tom. When you and I became an official couple that was it. Sirius and Lupin, my parents, they all became a part of your family. We are one big family, just as Ron and Draco are close enough to be our brothers and Hermione our sister. Sirius, we can't turn back now."

"Harry, don't you dare!" Tom said his eyes widening, but Harry had already started to remove his robe. It was the only way for him to prove his point. "He'll kill us!"

"Tom it's alright," Harry said. "He already knows. I'm just trying to get him to understand this." Despite his words, it took him a few seconds to get some of the buttons on his shirt undone. His hope was that if he willingly showed Sirius the markings that his godfather wouldn't be nearly as mad as if he just randomly found out.

Also, he was hoping by showing him that Sirius would give up on trying to break them up, because that wasn't about to happen any time soon. Not to mention that since his Godfather hadn't killed him the first time that he showed the marks this time with newly added ones to show that the ritual was complete shouldn't be so bad. Harry had actually thought it had finished the very night they'd done the marking, but it turned out it took two weeks for it to sink into the skin and the couple's magic to merge.

"You two didn't…." Sirius' strength seemed to leave him, because he was now using the foot of Harry's bed to keep himself standing. "Why? There are so many other ways!"

"Sirius, these marks don't show up unless there's really a bond between the two people right? You have to understand this, I'm not trying to be some rebellious teenager and date someone who pisses off everyone. You found Lupin at Hogwarts, you guys have been together ever since right? Why can't you understand that I found Tom here and that we're going to be together for the rest of our lives?"

"You two our fools! What happens if you break up?" Sirius asked somewhat controlled. It was obvious he wasn't happy, but at the least, he hadn't killed them. Instead, he grabbed Tom by the shirt and ripped the piece of cloth off in one swift movement. Of course Tom's own markings were there, proof that the two had completed the bonding. "Why?" He asked again closing his eyes. "Weren't they fine before?" He demanded referring to the markings he'd seen the first time.

"You have a boyfriend don't try to strip me," Tom growled moving over to Harry and standing behind him.

"You and Lu-"

"Lupin and I were not together our entire time at Hogwarts! I thought I'd be with my first boyfriend my whole life too, but it didn't work out. Lupin and I got together after I broke up with him!"

"So I just happened to find mine the first time," Harry said glad that his boyfriend had remained calm despite Sirius ripping his shirt. "I know you're worried about us, but our very bodies and spirit are so bound together there's no way I could ever reach this kind of relationship with anyone else. The necklace alone did something…whatever it did, we can read each other's thoughts, and we can't keep anything from each other. We don't always agree on everything, but we completely understand one another."

"Yeah sure, that's why you want to go work for the ministry and throw me in jail," Tom muttered earning a hit to the arm from Harry.

"Not now Tom," Harry warned him dangerously.

"I don't know what to say," Sirius said finally sitting down on the bed now. "How long have you two been like this?"

"We completed our bond before the Christmas holiday even started," Harry said his hand falling onto Tom's and lifting it up. "And we already agreed after this war is over we're going to get married. When I don't know, but before we die, we're going to-"

"Don't you think you're kind of going overboard?" Sirius asked cutting Harry off. "I mean really, that necklace, the ring, the bonding of the skin. Are you really that much in love or are you both that insecure that one of you is going to leave the other that you must do everything possible to let others know you are together?"

That being the last thing Harry expected to come out of Sirius' mouth it was his turn to go silent. Was that the reason they were suddenly doing all of these rituals to show the world, or were they really, so deeply in love they just wanted the world to know?

"I don't think it matters," Tom said getting in front of Harry now. "I'm not concerned about those types of things. If the world thinks we're over doing it, let them. It is proof that Harry belongs to me and no one else can have him. I have the same markings, it makes it easier to keep the fools who are constantly trying to jump me understand that I already belong to someone. The two of us now have a place to belong no matter what happens anywhere else in the world and the world has no choice, but to accept and acknowledge that bond." He walked towards Sirius then and stopped when he was inches from his face. "You cannot break this bond. You tried last year and failed. Even Dumbledore can't undo what we've done. You might as well realize you lost and accept the fact I'm going nowhere."

"Tom!" Harry wanted to hit his boyfriend for that, but it was true. The tattooed marks engraved into his skin couldn't be removed no matter how hard they tried, Lupin had mentioned a concealing spell, but that was about as far as it could go.

"You could have told me," Sirius said looking at his godson. "You should have asked before doing something like this! Do you even understand how serious this is?"

"I do…I did before I agreed to do it. Wouldn't you do it with Lupin if he asked?"

"Well it is kind of late for that," the werewolf said entering the room. "Sorry, I heard you guys fighting from the common room and came up. Harry, I'm glad you told Sirius about the bond being completed," he said smiling brightly at him. "It's not good to keep things from him."

"You knew?" Sirius asked in horror.

"It wasn't my place to tell you," Lupin replied evenly. "Harry was the one who did it; he should be the one to tell you."

"What do you mean too late?" Tom asked eyeing the werewolf.

"Oh I didn't want to say anything, but the truth is, Sirius and I marked each other years ago," he laughed walking over to his boyfriend. "He's too embarrassed to show his, which is why I knew about the concealing spell. Ours are also on our upper arms."

"Remus!"

"What? Just, because you regret it doesn't mean these two do. In fact I think theirs are better than ours there are so many details…"

"REMUS!"

"Sirius, if you don't start accepting them, you're going to end up losing both," Lupin said fixing his boyfriend with a stare. "Isn't that what you did with your family? Draco did to his?" Sirius opened his mouth to say something and then stopped. He didn't seem to have a decent argument anymore. "Alright so we're settled then. Harry is deeply in love with Tom, Tom's family includes us, and we are all a loving happy family."

"I wouldn't go that far," Harry said somewhat jokingly.

"It's better to put the rules down now Harry and just enforce them whenever they're broken," Lupin said all knowingly. "Eventually they'll get it and stop fighting."

"I still don't approve!"

"Then you're a fool," the werewolf said simply. "If they're going to break up, it's going to be on their own terms. Do you really think Lily's parents were happy when she brought home James?"

"Fine! Everyone do what they want! Don't come to me for advi-"

"There's no advice for love," Lupin cut in. "If there was, I would have dumped you ages ago. Common sense never works when it comes to who you fall in love with, you know that." He dragged Sirius to his feet. "Tell Harry you're sorry."

"What?"

"Apologize to him for completely ignoring his feelings and opinions."

"I don't ignore his feelings!"

"But you're doing it right now," Lupin growled at him. "By rejecting Tom you're telling Harry his feelings are wrong. That his opinions don't matter to you." That seemed to sink in to Sirius' brain, because suddenly he was completely pale and staring at Harry in horror. "Apologize."

"I'm sorry Harry," he said quietly. "It's not that I don't respect your feelings, I just-"

"Stop right there," Lupin warned him. "That "I" is exactly why you're being so selfish about all of this."

"…Yeah, it is," Sirius agreed smiling slightly. "I guess I have problems seeing things beyond black and white."

"Yes, but you're learning," Lupin said patting his boyfriend on the head. "Now to deal with you." He turned on Tom with that his eyes narrowed once more. All Harry could do was watch though; he wanted things to be smoothed over more than anything. "Before you left for Hogwarts, Sirius and you shared a hug," he said earning a very stricken looking Tom frozen in place. "You didn't jump him; I'm not sure what happened between the two of you since then, because you were both getting along. You saved Sirius life, but isn't it true, without Sirius you wouldn't have survived either?"

"Yes," Tom muttered looking away.

"So you have to agree then, even if he's a pain in the arse half the time, he's a good person to have on your side as a comrade."

"Yes," The heir said again.

"Well, prove it. The entire order is one big family. We're lucky; we are even closer than that, because we are a family." He moved away from the two and watched them. Harry came up beside Lupin then so he could watch too. "Harry wanted to see you both hug right? You did it once before, do it again."

The two glared at each other, neither making a move.

"Now!"

Muttering both moved closer then and loosely put their arms around each other.

"I hate you," Tom whispered harshly.

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual. For Harry though, I'll do it," he whispered back.

"I care about him more than you do!" Tom screamed tightening his grip around Sirius.

"You do not!" Sirius bellowed and soon what had been a hug turned into a full-blown wrestling match, both of them on the floor trying to squeeze the life out of each other.

"…I tried," Remus said then staring at Harry. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, they're at least touching each other," the Gryffindor sighed. "Maybe Dumbledore can tell me a better way of doing this. Ron…want to go down to the common room with us?"

"Y, yeah," he stuttered nearly running for the door. Harry couldn't blame him, he felt like running himself. Even so, he kept himself under control, Ron, Lupin, and himself all leaving the room, Tom and Sirius so deep in their fight they didn't notice.

"Sorry you had to see that," Harry said. "I was hoping since they were at Hogwarts, maybe it wouldn't go into a full out war."

"Well you have to admit it was better than before Harry. No wands were used."

"Yeah, how nice," Harry muttered closing his eyes. Why was it so hard for the two people he loved most in the world to get along with each other?

(X)

"They gone?" Sirius asked.

"Gone," Tom, said. The two of them released each other, the heir rubbing his back. "How annoying," he said leaning against the foot of the bed. "They're constantly trying to make us get along. Why can't they just leave things as they are?"

"Because they like to think they're in charge. Frog?" Sirius asked holding out the enchanted piece of chocolate.

"Yeah," Tom sighed taking the chocolate. "They'd probably have a nervous breakdown if they knew we spent most of the holiday vacation talking at night."

"Well, one day they'll find out, until then," He shrugged biting down on his own chocolate frog.

"Until then, we drive them nuts," Tom laughed.

"That's the plan," Sirius roared happily.

Tom merely sat there in amusement then. Sirius and he had come to the conclusion on the first day of the holiday vacation that they needed to settle their differences for Harry's sake. It would do them no good to keep fighting, especially when they might need each other's help during fights. So with every intention of getting along they started meeting almost every other night for three hours talking about one thing or another. At first it was just things they liked about Harry, but eventually it led to talks of Voldemort and Azkaban, things only they could understand given the hellish places they had been and the horrors they'd endured.

"I think our acting is way too good for them to ever figure it out though," Tom laughed.

"Well, I've spent a good deal of my life acting to get out of trouble; I've had a lot of practice!" He finished his chocolate frog and got up then looking around the room. "First time I've ever seen Harry's markings complete though. Can't say I like the snake, but the stage on your back looks much better."

"Yeah, yeah. You just like four legged animals," Tom smirked getting up. He'd only eaten half his frog and was tempted to throw it at Sirius to finish the insult, but decided against it. Instead, he stood up and finished it. He had after all been raised by a stepfather who was bent on consuming treats every chance he got. "Thanks for the frog," he said throwing the container it'd been in away.

"You got them last time," Sirius, grinned patting Tom on the back. "Better get back down there, ready to start bickering again?"

Tom merely smirked.

(X)

"I'm glad you're in one piece," Harry grinned at his boyfriend. The two of them were walking down the hall to Dumbledore's office, both of them just having finished the feast with their friends in almost complete silence. At first, Harry didn't understand why, but when Draco asked for the pumpkin juice and heard his voice, he started to understand. "He sounded fine during the holiday why is his voice so messed up again?"

"No thanks to you," Tom said with a scowl on his face. Even so, he didn't seem that annoyed, more tired than anything. "He woke up screaming a night ago at Ron's, it opened some of the wounds on his vocal cords." Harry couldn't help wincing at that. He knew it had to be painful; he was no stranger to having wounds reopen. The worst part about them wasn't so much the pain that followed, but the fact that you knew you were in for another good week or so of healing and watching every move you made in order for it to heal properly again.

"I just really want you too to get along," Harry sighed. "I love you both so much; I want you two to see the good in each other."

"We barely fought over Christmas holiday," Tom pointed out. "Sure we bickered a bit, but nothing like we used to. You and Remus started the fight in the bedroom."

Harry was going to say something to that until he realized it was true. His godfather and boyfriend had rarely gone at each other's throats over the entire Christmas holiday until Lupin and he had gotten involved.

"Sorry," he said nervously. "I guess I'm pushing this too much."

"A bit," the heir admitted wrapping his arm around Harry's shoulder. "I'm not worried though. I'd rather fight with him than you."

"I'd rather none of us fight," Harry, sighed. "I guess that's never going to happen though is it?"

"Probably not," Tom agreed. They made it up the stairs and stood in front of Dumbledore's office. "It's not like that's really a bad thing though. Just because we're fighting doesn't mean we hate each other, we just express our feelings differently."

"I'd appreciate it if you could express your feelings without damage the castle?" Dumbledore asked standing in the doorway. Harry hadn't heard the door open and so stood there shocked at the headmaster just standing there; Tom had the same look on his face as Harry's.

"I didn't break the door," he said when he'd gotten his bearing back. "I may have hurt it, but it's not broken."

"Yes, but from what I hear that door takes a lot of punishment," the headmaster smiled. "Shall we start our lesson then?"

"Yes sir," Harry said shoving Tom in making sure not to hit the headmaster. "What will we be learning about today?"

"Well in truth I have two more memories…however one of them is unnecessary with Tom here," Dumbledore smiled. He motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk and took his own seat behind it. "I had many questions about Slughorn, but it seems that my son here happened to be in the room when the conversation took place and so that is no longer needed.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked looking to his boyfriend. "What was it about?"

"Horcruxes," Tom said. It seemed to Harry his boyfriend had, had to force the words out of his mouth.

"Great, what are they?" Harry asked rolling his eyes. Like he'd know what something like that was, he barely knew what anything in the wizarding world was.

"Horcruxes are an extremely dark magic, as dark as the unforgivables," Dumbledore explained slowly. "These things-"

"You're taking too long old man," Tom scowled. "Voldemort used them to become a dark wizard. You split your soul in half and put into an object," Tom finished.

"Thank you Tom," Dumbledore said his smile returning. It seemed that the headmaster was happy that the heir had been the one to give the brief explanation instead of himself.

"…which is how Voldemort managed to stay alive," Harry realized after drawing a few conclusions from his boyfriend's mind. It made some sense; at least now that he knew there was a way for people to survive death.

"Yes Harry, it seems Professor Slughorn, tricked by Voldemort told him just about everything he needed to know," the headmaster said. "I was very disappointed in Slughorn, but then so many were fooled by his tricks."

"And the second time around it wasn't much better. I wasn't the best of children when I was younger," Tom pointed out.

"No, you were not," Dumbledore agreed. Tom muttered something at that, but Harry couldn't make it out. "But you were better behaved than your counterpart. Especially after you betrayed him."

"I actually had a question about that," Harry said jumping into their conversation. "When Tom went missing, because he went into the necklace, wasn't there some kind of investigation? Wouldn't Voldemort have been arrested for underage magic as well as forcing someone to hide in a necklace?"

"I believe that would be my fault…I was so interested in how this life was to play out I didn't want to alter it much…instead I erased the fact that Tom ever existed from most of the world," Dumbledore said lowering his head. "It was a foolish thing to do."

"It worked out fine…until you had to do it again," Tom said poking the nearest book on the desk. It fell off hitting the floor hard, which of course woke up half the portraits in the room as well as Fawkes. The phoenix seeing that Tom had returned let out a loud yelp and jumped onto his shoulder immediately.

"You did that on purpose," Harry scolded him.

"So?" The heir seemed much more interested in the bird now than anything going on around them.

"Well…so we know how Voldemort managed to survive. Now what?" Harry asked wondering where all of this was going to lead them. Yes, it was important that they know these things, but what could they gain from it?

"Well, we know how he managed it…but we don't know what he used in order to do it," Tom sighed. "We still have a long way to go in actually finding the clues that we need, but it's a start."

"How long have you known this?" Harry asked.

"We knew…but we had to make sure it was true. I corned Slughorn, between my memories and his there's enough proof that Voldemort definitely asked about Horcruxes. Considering everything that has happened after that he most definitely made at least one."

"Yeah," Harry agreed with a firm nod. "The fact that he's alive now after what happened to him…but to think just splitting your soul in half even once could cause so much damage to your body…" It made him shudder to even think about it.

"We think he did it more than once," Tom said stroking Fawkes' neck gently. "Splitting your soul in half, it probably wouldn't cause such a drastic change based on what he looks like now."

"Odd," was all Harry could think to say until he realized the weight of those words. "How many times do you think he did it?"

"According to the memories…it's a possibility he did it seven or more times," Dumbledore said somberly.

"Seven?" Harry repeated the number his eyes wide. "Does that mean we have to kill him seven more times?" One time had been worse enough, thousands of wizards and witches had died, his own parents had fallen before Voldemort had been taken down the first time and now the two people in front of him were saying they'd have to kill Voldemort a total of six more times.

"No, we're trying to find a way around that," Tom said. "But given how many people he's killed…"

"What does that have to do with it?" Harry asked hotly.

"Harry, in order to split your soul in half you must partake in the most evil of actions possible, which is taking another life. By doing so and casting a spell to seal that part of your soul into an object…a horcrux is born," Dumbledore, explained.

"Wait…that means…he could have thousands of them!"

"Well, that's what I thought at first," Tom said finally looking at his boyfriend. "As we did more research over the summer though, we realized if he did over ten there would be a good chance he couldn't even function if he ripped his soul apart that much. To rip it over ten, when the new part of the soul reenters the body, it probably wouldn't even have enough memory or energy to cast a single spell."

"So at the least it's under ten," Harry said more desperately than he'd hoped to. Who in the world could blame him though? The thought of these things and Voldemort having created them, it was insane. Worse yet, what if Voldemort had split his soul more than ten times and had just managed to find a way to gather other souls to mix into his own or a way to preserve his memory? "I hope you guys are right."

"I'm sure we are," Tom said confidently. "I don't think he went around killing random people to make the Horcruxes, he picked out certain ones to craft them."

"Certain ones?"

"Yes. The first one was probably made when he killed my uncle," Tom said. Harry was a bit surprised he didn't seem to care about this fact, granted, he seemed much more protective of his mother than any of his other family members. "He followed up with my biological father, and grandparents. We're not too sure after that," he admitted with a sigh. "At least he did it before I could though."

"You would have killed your family? That's nonsense, you wouldn't have done anything," Dumbledore said looking amused.

"I would have gotten rid of my uncle," Tom said and the way he said it made Harry believe he wasn't lying. "That muggle was tricked by a love potion right? I wouldn't have touched my mother either the way she looked it's not his fault. He probably didn't even remember her once the love potion wore off, but my uncle is another matter. He used to help my useless grandfather beat her."

"And once again we see that Tom has a soft spot for his mother," Harry snickered hoping to defuse some of the tension in the room.

"True, your boyfriend had always had a soft spot for his mother figures in his life," Dumbledore offered. Tom's hand froze in mid-air of petting Fawkes and he looked up at the headmaster a dangerous glare etched onto his face.

"If you ever say something like that again I will kill you where you stand," He hissed at him in the snake language. Dumbledore however merely smiled at him holding his hands in the air in surrender palms facing the heir. "Damn old man," he growled standing up and heading for the door.

"Tom!"

"Let him go Harry," Dumbledore laughed. "Even he has problems accepting things." The door was slammed shut and the two of them were alone, Fawkes standing on the desk wondering where his attention giver had just vanished to. "I asked him not to harm the doors in Hogwarts," the headmaster sighed.

"It's a hard habit for him to break," Harry smiled. "He's been doing it for far too long."

"You're quite right about that Harry. As long as I can remember, he has been throwing tantrums. The first day I brought him home he completely destroyed my house."

"What?" Always interested in finding out things about Tom's past he was now giving Dumbledore his complete attention. "What did he do?"

"Anything he could possibly flip over or throw he did. Books, furniture, my fridge had to be replaced once he was finished with it. He ripped the pillows and blankets of every room to complete shreds. I found parts of carpets burned, doors ripped off their hinges…holes in my wall. It was a real mess," The headmaster sighed, his eyes closed now in memory. "I almost thought I'd have to chain him up to get him to stop, but he tired himself out and fell asleep under the over turned couch."

"And dare I ask why he was having such a fit?" Harry was sure it was something stupid, but he wanted to know.

"As I mentioned before, I had every intention of going back in time and retrieving Voldemort to raise him so he would hopefully not become the dark wizard he is today. I did not know that there were two Tom's, because of whatever reason. I mistook our Tom for Voldemort and needless to say, my son was not happy to be considered the other one."

"So before all this stuff started at school…he actually hated his brother?" Harry actually found this somewhat surprising. He'd thought that Tom would want to befriend himself, thinking his other self was a twin and that they'd be as close as Fred and George. At least until he remembered the memory of Tom and Voldemort fighting in the orphanage.

"Yes. You see the boy that would eventually grow up to be Voldemort was constantly giving our Tom a hard time. Voldemort wanted to be one of a kind; he wanted to be the only Tom, the only one who could talk to snakes. Our Tom however was constantly getting in his way for his own amusement of course. So when I mistook one for the other…he threw a fit swearing I was calling him weak and useless."

"…That sounds like him," Harry agreed. "At least he seems to have…calmed down," he offered weakly.

"Indeed, I believe I owe that to you Harry. He certainly hasn't been obeying for my sake," the headmaster said laughing. He stood up then motioning for Harry to do the same. "You should probably start heading back less you wish to see another tantrum tonight."

"Yeah." He stood up then and started heading for the door. "Tonight's lesson was pretty short…"

"There was a memory I wanted to show you, but…it seems that Tom is not quite ready for it."

"…Sir, I know about our fourth year," Harry said turning to look at the headmaster squarely. "I know that I actually met Tom in my fourth year."

(TBC)

Okay, another weird move around. It's weird that I have to keep moving things around like this…even if it's the only way to have things make sense. Eh.


	37. A small Glimpse

I'd like to get as many updates done as possible before the school semester resumes. I know I've been really horrible with updates so you guys deserve it.

Warnings:Shonen ai, gay, slash, yaoi, whatever you call it, that's what this is.

Notes: (X)is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 37: A Small Glimpse

Dumbledore examined Harry then almost as if he was trying to read his mind. The Gryffindor had nothing to hide though, at least not from the headmaster.

"And yet he's still against you seeing any memories from that time?" The headmaster finally asked raising an eyebrow.

"He won't talk about it," Harry admitted. "I told him I knew, I even gave him proof and yet every time I bring it up we end up fighting."

"His main defense," The headmaster said with a small nod. "Harry, is it that important to see a memory about your past that you're already aware of?"

"I'm aware of it, I don't remember it. If you don't want to use Tom's than I want you to use mine," He said firmly. One way or another he wanted to see something that night.

"…I will lock the door," The headmaster sighed taking out his wand and doing just that. "I would set your bond with Tom to a low level, perhaps making him believe you and I are just talking or you ran into Sirius," he suggested moving over to the pensive.

"Alright." He did the best he could to slightly block the strength to their bond, but only enough so it looked like he was distracted and talking to someone so the heir wouldn't get suspicious. When he was done, he walked over to where Dumbledore was standing and waited.

"You are aware he'll kill us both for this, are you not?"

"Completely," Harry grinned up at the headmaster. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he couldn't shake the happy feeling about being able to reclaim one of his lost memories. Sure, it would have been better to travel with his boyfriend, but he already knew Tom wasn't going to agree to this. "Let's do this before he comes back."

Sighing again the headmaster gave another nod and pointed to the pensive and soon they were traveling quickly into the liquid. They arrived at the stadium of the world cup, thousands of cheering witches and wizards. The younger Harry was standing beside Ron and Hermione cheering along with them until two wizards approached them.

"Harry Potter! You know who he is," the minister of magic said loudly to a wizard in black velvet robes trimmed with gold. "He survived the attack of You-Know-…scar?" He pointed at Harry's scar as if he were just a picture.

"I really hated him," Present day Harry said shaking his head.

"I can understand why," Dumbledore said smiling down at him.

"I'm not so good with languages," Fudge said to Harry with a laugh. "No, that's…ah look!" He placed his hand on the Bulgarian minister and pointed at some figures coming towards them. "Lucius and Dumbledore are here!"

"I don't remember you coming here sir," Harry said looking up at the headmaster. "Was that erased from my memory too?"

"Yes Harry, we made sure to get rid of the fact that even I attended the world cup. As if I would miss such an event." He gave Harry a wink.

As the figures moved closer Harry could see it was indeed Lucius, Draco, who Harry knew now to be Draco's mother, Dumbledore, and to Harry's complete shock, a young Tom. The younger Tom did not look at all happy to be there and had a glare clearly etched on his face. They stopped near Fudge everyone exchanging handshakes and greetings.

"Welcome, welcome!" Fudge said cheerfully. "Here just in time, I take it you're all enjoying yourself?"

"Of course we are minister," Lucius said with a tight smile. "My family enjoys Quidditch a good deal, don't you Draco?"

Draco gave a swift nod. Harry was barely paying attention though, his focus was on Tom who despite being only fourteen in this memory Harry really wanted to kidnap him. The heir was shorter than he was now without saying, but his breathtaking eyes and short black hair that accented his high cheekbones perfectly just made Harry want to drool. He was wearing normal dark red wizarding robes so of course Harry thought he looked better than usual anyway, which was not helping him keep control at all.

"Wow," was all the Gryffindor could manage.

"Yes, he hasn't changed much," Dumbledore snickered.

"Enjoying the game Potter?" Draco sneered at the younger Harry.

"I was," the younger one said coolly. "View got ruined though."

"Mine improved," the young heir said walking over to the younger Harry and his friends. The Gryffindors all turned at this to see who was talking and merely stared at Tom. It didn't seem like any of them knew what to do with this new wizard.

"This is Aderes Keaira," the Dumbledore in the memory said cheerfully. "He will be attending our school this semester. I hope you will help him around the school."

"I don't need their help," Aderes snapped, but he was looking Harry over a good deal and finally held his hand out to him. "Pleased to meet you," he said. "My father has spoken a great deal of you, holds you in very high esteem."

The younger Harry raised an eyebrow at that looked at the other two who shrugged and then back to the hand that was being held out.

"If you try to curse me it won't work," the younger Harry whispered taking Aderes' hand and shaking it.

"I've no intentions of cursing you, if Voldemort couldn't do it, how could I?" He asked justa s quietly. "I'm transferring to Hogwarts this year; I hope we can be friends." He took his hand back then the smile never leaving his face.

"Please ignore him Harry. Aderes here has not yet learned how to interact with others properly. I hope you won't judge him to harshly just yet," the younger headmaster said with a smile.

"Of course not sir," the younger Harry said at once.

"Don't give him the wrong idea," Aderes growled, but Harry noticed a small blush on the younger Slytherin's face.

"Perhaps we shall sit over here then, instead of near mister Malfoy?" the headmaster asked. The younger heir didn't seem to know what to do then. He scowled and muttered a curse and started walking towards Draco and his family.

"I'd love to stay here with you, but as you can see, Aderes may set fire to the box if I don't join him…how fun." He let out a small sigh and started down the long line of seats leaving Harry and Dumbledore with the younger version of Harry and his friends.

"Anyone ever hear of Keaira?" the younger Harry asked the second the people were out of ear shot. "Your dad ever talk about someone like that Ron?"

"No. That kid was weird though," Ron, said looking up at the box said boy had gone to. "He seemed off."

"Dumbledore said he was just starting to interact with people though…I bet he was being home schooled," Hermione said quickly. "Oh if Dumbledore says to trust him we should. He can't be that bad and he was nice to you Harry!"

"Notice how he said hi to me, but not you two?" the younger Harry asked. "He's just as stuck up as Malfoy and the fact he's hanging around with him, I bet he's no better."

"I don't know, we should at least give him a chance," Hermione said biting her bottom lip. "He didn't exactly look thrilled to be joining Malfoy's family."

"You just think he's cute," Ron spat looking back at the field. "Good looks don't mean anything! A lot of people who look good are horrible. Remember Tom Riddle who you thought was really good looking?"

"I never said he was good looking!" Hermione shouted her face red.

"I think that's enough for now," Dumbledore said grabbing Harry by the shoulder. Soon enough they were back in the headmaster's office. When the pensive was safely put away and the memory up the headmaster came back over to Harry. "I did not wish to explore farther without Tom present."

"No it's fine…I'm just surprised that he actually just walked up and shook my hand," Harry said. "I don't know what I was expecting, but that wasn't it."

"Let me stress something Harry…Tom as he is now is much more mature than the Tom in your fourth year. Yes, at some point you two grew very close, but before that…and perhaps even after. Well, you know how he is."

"You're saying he was a git," Harry said. "When is he not?"

"Good point," Dumbledore smiled. "Now, I'm sure you would much rather be spending time with your present day boyfriend, especially before he comes to find you."

"Wouldn't want that to happen," Harry agreed. "Good night professor."

"Good night Harry." He took his wand out without moving from his desk and unlocked the door. Harry waved good night to the headmaster and walked out the door. As he headed down the steps, he was more than surprised to find Tom sitting at the turn in them head against the wall asleep. Smiling the Gryffindor walked down the last steps that were between them and ran a hand through the heir's hair.

"Hey, let's head back to the tower," he said quietly. Tom blinked a bit before his eyes seemed to adjust, because when they did he was smiling up at Harry. "Good dream?"

"Yeah," Tom yawned standing up. "What were you two talking about?"

"My memory," Harry said honestly. He took Tom's hand in his own and the two of them headed for the Gryffindor tower. "You don't have to freak out or yell and scream, but Tom, I'm going to find out everything one way or another," he said matter of fact. "You can't get around this, my memories are my own and that includes my fourth year."

"Thought you liked the idea of having gotten through that tournament all by yourself," Tom muttered no longer looking happy.

"I don't if it's a lie," he said and he reopened the bond all the way. "Dumbledore showed me the memory of us meeting at the Quidditch world cup. Just the meeting," he said when he saw the look of horror on Tom's face. "What were you thinking just walking up and shaking my hand?" He asked and suddenly started laughing. "And just so you know, you were just as desirable then as you are now."

"That's none of your business," He said his face completely red for once. "I was just saying hi."

"Didn't sound like it to me. You said your view had improved and you walked right up and shook my hand!"

"Yeah, I did a lot of stuff during your fourth year I still don't understand," he growled, his footsteps now stomping every move he made. "So what?"

"I'm not mad, it's just funny. You had complete confidence that I'd return the hand shake even though you were with Draco." He kissed the heir on the cheek. "Stop getting so angry about this."

"I didn't do it to meet you, not really," Tom, snapped turning to face the Gryffindor. "I'm not proud of it okay? I'm sorry."

"What? What else can a handshake mean?"

"Dumbledore was constantly talking about how great you were, I was jealous I wanted to size you up," Tom screamed causing both of them to stop. "I hated you, I wanted to show Dumbledore that I could be better…but it didn't last long. I didn't even get through the whole cup with my hatred intact."

"You…hated me?" Harry asked feeling a slight sting. His memories only went as far as fifth year and Tom had always been around him and defending him, constant care and protection, to think that the heir at one point had actually hated him…

"I'm sorry!" He said again this time grabbing both of Harry's hands with his own. "I couldn't stand not being Dumbledore's favorite. I emerged your fourth year from the necklace, because of how much bragging he did of you. It was always 'Harry did this' and 'Harry did that'. And then I met you….you were just some kid standing next to a muggle lover and a mud blood. You weren't anything to look at. Your grades were horrible and yet my father adored you!"

"…but it had to have changed…you said you helped me in the grave yard," Harry said trying to keep his emotions steady. "You were so protective of me during my fifth year…"

"Of course I was, I told you, I couldn't even hate you through the whole tournament. Halfway through the damn game I decided I wanted you as mine. It didn't matter who was on Dumbledore's favorite list, because I was going to steal you from him."

"Steal me?" Harry asked laughing somewhat. "I bet I didn't take that too easily."

"You weren't really against it," Tom said letting out a breath. "We got along well enough at the world cup. I even ditched Draco for a while." He released one of Harry's hands and the two started heading to the tower again. "Even so, there are still a lot of things I did, if you think our fights now are bad you'd start crying if you knew about fourth year."

"You know eventually I will," Harry said feeling slightly better. He was glad he wasn't going to have to hide this from his boyfriend. Even better was that going behind Tom's back and seeing one of his old memories seemed to actually give the heir a push to start talking about it.

"I'd rather not see you cry again," Tom said looking at him. "Fourth year was painful to say the least…and you saw how I was acting through half of your fifth year; I had only calmed down a bit."

"And now you're just one of us," Harry smiled at him. "I'm not worried about fourth year, it's already over with."

"Yeah…if you actually knew what it consisted of," Tom said with a nervous laugh.

"It's better that I know though, it's not fair for you to be burdened with those memories alone. We're a couple right? It's our job to help each other out. No more fights about fourth year," Harry said when they'd made it to the portrait entrance. "We'll take this slow. I'm not going to rush this like I'm trying with you and Sirius, it's not as important." The heir looked at him curiously then and nodded. Smiling the two walked into the Gryffindor Tower.

(X)

"Apparition lessons. If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the 31st of August next, you are eligible for a twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor. Please sign below if you would like to participate. Cost: 12 Galleons," Ron read off excitedly, Harry beside him.

"Can't say I'm looking forward to it," Harry said with a slight frown. "I mean, I've already been forced to with Dumbledore, wasn't the greatest of feelings."

"That's right…but it'll still be cool! Think about it, if you need to get away from someone…anyone," Ron grinned looking at Tom. "You can get away."

"Like that'd work with our bond," Harry laughed. "And if I did, the second he found me I'd be side alonged to the bottom of black lake and fed to the giant squid."

"Think he'd be that mean to you?"

"Oh yeah," Harry said seriously. "While we do love each other, our revenge tactics are pretty…well we really do need counseling." While he had said it to be funny, the more he thought about it the more he realized they probably would need it eventually. Sure, they were doing pretty well right now, they had managed to get through any serious fights that had come along, but there was always that underlying layer of rage and pride the two felt when things got out of hand.

"Yeah you might…Draco and I probably will too," Ron said. He was watching Tom and Draco talking about something in the corner of the common room, both of them laughing. "Those markings…you said there was a concealment spell right?"

"Huh? Yeah," Harry said his attention completely on his friend now. "Why?"

"Draco's been hinting around about it. I'm not really sure I want to do it though. What's it like?"

"Actually it doesn't do anything besides burn images into your skin," Harry laughed. "All that mind reading was due to the necklace and possibly something that happened during fourth year that my 'wonderful' boyfriend has yet to tell me about. The real issue is you can't choose where the markings show up or how big they are."

"That's not good…yours is on your back…and Lupin's on his arm he said," Ron said repeating what he'd heard from the werewolf the day before. "So I could get real lucky and it'd show up on my foot?"

"Eh Ron," Harry said somewhat nervously. "The point of the marks is for people to know you and someone else are bonded…it's not going to show up somewhere people aren't likely to see. Think more of your chest, back, arms, neck, hands," Harry went on listing common body parts the markings appeared on. Tom and he had done some research before finishing the ritual.

"Oh," Was all Ron said.

"I don't think Draco knows how to do it anyway, I'll tell Aderes not to let him in on it until you're ready okay?"

"Okay!" Ron seemed much happier after that and the topic went back to the apparition lessons. As they talked about it, more and more Gryffindors gathered around them to join in the conversation. Of course, all the sixth years were excited and the younger ones were getting worked up too, all of them saying things like 'I can't wait for my sixth year'. Harry didn't have the heart to tell them they'd have to survive their fifth years first.

By the time, they'd worn the subject of apparition out, or at least for Harry, he got up and went over to Draco and Tom's little corner. They looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves and Harry was of course curious.

"What are you guys up to?" He asked, both of them jerking around to look at him and stashing the pieces of paper they had under the table.

"I thought we were spending time with our respective friends," Tom hissed causing Harry to take a step back. "Draco's my friend too," Harry, said feeling slightly left out. "I got sick of talking about apparition lessons with Ron."

"Well we'll be sure to switch on our next get together friends day," Draco said barely giving Harry a glance. "Today is for Aderes and me."

"Fine," Harry said glaring at them. "If you two are plotting something again that will allow death eaters into our school I'm personally taking you both out," he warned them and stalked off. Just, because they'd agreed to take some time apart to spend with friends didn't mean they should completely ignore each other. And Draco and he were friends; there was no doubt about that in his mind. They'd shared a bed for the entire summer holiday for crying aloud! 'Tom does deserve some alone time with Draco though. Ron is constantly hogging him and I'm always taking up Tom's time,' Harry decided. The two Slytherin hadn't even gotten to talk much during the Christmas holiday since Draco was staying at Ron's.

Deciding he really shouldn't have interrupted and hoping beyond anything that they weren't plotting anything Harry headed for the portrait.

'Tom, don't tell Draco how to do the bonding just yet. Ron's not ready,' he told him mentally before he forgot. With that, he shut their bond and snuck out of the common room, not a very hard thing to accomplish. Staying out was a completely different matter however.

"Where do you think you're going?" Remus asked raising an eyebrow at Harry. "And alone?"

"I don't know. Aderes and I decided we should spend time alone with our friends, apart from each other. I was fine with that until Ron decided all he knew how to talk about was apparition."

"Which you don't like at all," Lupin smiled. "How about you go with me to Hagrid's then? You haven't seen him since Christmas right?"

"No I haven't." And so the two of them headed for the staircase and then out so they could get to Hagrid's hut. After all, Hagrid was a friend too wasn't he?

"Do you and Sirius ever end up taking a break from each other, you know, so you can spend time with other friends?" Harry asked as they stepped out into the snow. He was glad that Lupin and Sirius were staying at Hogwarts now. Before the Christmas break he'd heard from the other teachers that they'd be getting reassigned, but it turned out they'd be remaining at the school for another week.

"Actually Harry, I don't think Sirius would have any friends if not for me," the werewolf laughed. "Honestly though, we see so little of each other helping Dumbledore we haven't had the luxury of needing a break from one another."

"Sorry." Harry said quickly. He felt like an idiot for not thinking about the differences in their situations. He suddenly felt very selfish. Sirius and Remus would no doubt love to have as much together time as Tom and he got.

"Harry, you two are in school and despite being in different houses, Aderes has managed to get Draco and himself into the Gryffindor tower. It's completely understandable that you two would need some time apart. When I was in school Sirius and I took breaks."

"Yeah?" Harry asked not feeling as bad anymore.

"Everyone needs a break from time to time, especially when their boyfriends are hot headed freaks who need to be left chained up in a basement," Lupin said with a bright smile.

Harry looked at the werewolf nervously, but said nothing. Instead he allowed Lupin to his thoughts and kept quiet so as not to bring the werewolf's rage down on him. The closer to Hagrid's they got however Lupin started bringing up random things for them to talk about. It was almost like they were normal people and Voldemort didn't exist. They were just friends going to visit another friend.

When they arrived at the cabin Lupin knocked twice with his fist and then once with his elbow.

"Comin Remus!" Came the reply from the inside. Fang of course was barking wildly waiting for the door to open. There was a good number of clicking noises and the sound of chains being moved before the door finally opened. Fang bolted out before anyone could say a word and soon Harry was on his butt in the snow. "Fang!"

"S' right Hagrid," Harry laughed petting Fang as the dog licked him to death. It had been so long since Harry had come down without any of his friends or boyfriend attached to him he felt like crying. He managed to get to his knees and hugged Fang tightly. "You're a good boy aren't you?" he asked the dog, which only made the canine lick him, more.

"'Arry, yeh gonna get sick," Hagrid said his hands on his hips. When Harry looked at him he found the pose quite amusing, especially since Hagrid was wearing his trademark apron.

"Come on Fang, you can eat him in the cabin," Lupin bade the dog. When Fang showed no signs of listening Lupin grabbed him by the collar and dragged the dog in with one swift movement. Harry could only stare then, shocked that Lupin was actually that strong. He'd never seen the werewolf use physical strength less he was trying to drag Sirius somewhere. By the looks of it, he didn't use half his power to keep Harry's godfather under control.

"So what yeh doin here Harry? Bin o'while," Hagrid grinned. "Yeh like yer gift?"

"Yes," Harry said happily stepping into the cabin. Once all four of them were inside the cabin the door slammed shut of its own accord, all the locks slipping back into place by themselves. "Did you like yours?" He asked trying to ignore the fact if the cabin went up in flames they'd probably all die trying to get out.

"Yeh got it right here," Hagrid said motioning to his table where a new giant stainless steel teapot sat. "Really like it," he said happily.

"That's good. It took me awhile to find one that big." Finding it had actually taken him a few hours in Diagon and when the heir had heard this he'd hit Harry on the arm saying his head was already too damaged. He'd then gone on a lengthy lecture of how Harry should have just found a teapot he liked and used an enlargement charm or transfigured it to be the proper size. Harry seriously hadn't given that any thought, but it was done and over with now and all that mattered was that Hagrid was enjoying his gift.

"I bet," Hagrid said. He grabbed the teapot, filled it with water, and placed it on the stove. "Now teh use it."

"So how did your holiday go?" He took a seat on the couch, Fang's whining getting the better of him. His body didn't even get to touch the cushion before Fang jumped on him and stretched out across the couch, Harry's lap now a pillow. 'At least I'm used to this,' Harry thought to himself with a laugh.

"Well, well. Spent some time with Gwamp…and yeh know…some of me other friends…" He coughed at this his face turning bright.

"Would that be a friend half giantess?" Harry asked with a knowing grin.

"Might be," Hagrid replied.

"So how were the grounds over the holiday, nothing out of the ordinary I hope?" Lupin suddenly cut in. Harry hadn't expected the werewolf to actually start talking about their mission or anything going on at Hogwarts, but he wasn't disappointed that they were. He decided right away he wouldn't say a word hoping if he remained silent that the two adults would talk of all sorts of things that he hadn't been informed of yet.

"Fer the most part," Hagrid said his eyes going to the window. "Had a few problems…nothin I couldn't fix."

"How bad?" Lupin asked wincing slightly. Harry couldn't understand why.

"Well teh tell yeh teh truth some fools tried to break into teh school. Had a few others go after the stables," Hagrid said shaking his head. "Was about teh go get Dumbledore, but they all ran off when Fang and me showed up."

"You still reported it though?" Lupin asked hopefully.

"'course I did!" Hagrid said hotly, obviously taking the words as an insult. "I may not be teh brightest one here, but I know when teh inform Dumbledore!"

"I wasn't calling you stupid," Lupin said with a slight frown. "It's just when I was out there I noticed different tracks as well as an odd scent coming from the forest."

"Yeh what?" Hagrid asked completely deflated. "We need teh go check it out!" he said moving as fast as he could through his small cabin towards his coat.

"I was afraid of that," Lupin said grimly turning his attention to the silent Gryffindor. "Harry I think it's best if you return to the school now."

"What? You can't just let me hear all that and expect me not to go with you! I can help, you saw the things I've been teaching the D.A. members," he said somehow getting out from under Fang. "I promise to listen."

"Harry I don't know, this could be dangerous-"

"All the better for me to go! I'm not like Sirius, I won't pull any stupid stunts, I'll just be there for backup," He promised him. He really didn't want to be rushed back to the castle at this point in time. If he had to sit there waiting until morning to find out if Lupin and Hagrid had made it out of the woods okay he'd go mad, not to mention wondering if they had found anything in the first place.

"And what happened the last time you went into the forest? You nearly lost your mind," Lupin reminded him.

"I'll take extra deep breaths," He said with a grin. "Please?"

"Fine," Lupin sighed getting up from the chair he'd been sitting in. "If anything happens to you though, I hope you remember to come back as a ghost to explain it to everyone, because I'm not taking responsibility for this."

"Deal," Harry said at once. He realized Lupin must really be stressed out at this point considering how easily he'd agreed to let Harry go with him. He had probably known even if he told Harry no that the Gryffindor would have snuck into the forest anyway as soon as he could and follow them. All three of them going in at once was definitely a lot safer.

"Got me cross bow loaded," Hagrid said holding out a lamp to Lupin who took it gratefully. "Come on Fang." The dog whined almost as if it was annoyed and jumped off the couch walking over to his owner. "Just a quick look," he promised the dog.

"Harry's going to come with us, if something is in the woods I don't want him getting jumped while walking back to the school," Lupin informed the half-giant.

"Good point," Hagrid muttered. The look on his face said other things, probably that he didn't like the idea that Harry was going, but the Gryffindor would make sure to stay safe and help. If he could prove himself just a little bit at being able to hold his own against whatever he might suddenly run into, Tom would have no choice, but to back down, if even just a little and admit he was a decent wizard where battles were concerned. "Footprints at the entrance?" he asked.

"Yes," Lupin said and the four headed out the backdoor, which only had to Harry's amusement two locks. He hoped the cabin was never attacked from behind and tried to think nothing more of the matter so he would be focused and remain on the task at hand.

TBC

Okay, that actually went pretty well…


	38. A Minor Disaster

Okay to be really weird if I have to break this up and end up with a completely new chapter…

Warnings: It's slash/ gay/ shonen ai.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 38: A Minor Disaster

They left the cabin and made their way to the Forbidden Forest entrance a minute later, Lupin holding the lamp up so they could see the footprints in the snow. "Fresh," Lupin said with a frown.

"Yeh," Hagrid agreed and they went in. Harry followed behind them quietly doing his best to scan the actual area while Lupin and Hagrid focused on the footprints. The last thing they needed was a surprise attack. As they moved farther in Harry found it odd that the air was warming up around them despite how cold it was outside of the woods. He knew the forest was a few degrees warmer than outside of it, but this seemed different to him.

"Is this normal?" Harry asked. Despite the fact he'd said it quietly; both Lupin and Hagrid looked shocked to see Harry behind them as if they'd forgotten he'd come with them.

"What normal?" Hagrid asked with a snort.

"The air, it's getting warmer…I know the trees keep the wind out, but can there be that big of a difference in temperature just because of that?"

"…I was so busy paying attention to the footprints," Remus muttered a curse then and looked around them. "This isn't good."

"What is it?" Harry asked grabbing his wand.

"Harry, stand back," Lupin instructed him. "If I tell you to run, you do it," he said leaving no room for debate. Harry doubted he could actually leave Lupin and Hagrid behind, but he nodded just to make the werewolf feel better. The three of them stood side by side, Fang in front of Hagrid growling as a cloaked figure came out from some trees ahead of them and stopped upon seeing their lamp.

"Oh dear, you arrived early," the figure said sounding distressed. Harry doubted that was really the case. "The surprise was for later," the man said taking a few steps closer to them, Fang letting out a loud bark as a warning. "Everyone, look. The fools came early and how rude of them, they brought an extra guest." Four more cloaked figures emerged from the same direction the first one had come from.

"Is that…" Harry couldn't finish the words. The temperature it seemed had indeed been shooting up and given the amount of flames that were engulfing the trees from where the death eaters had just come from, he could see why. The entire forest was going to be burnt down destroying everything if things weren't dealt with quickly, but it wasn't going to be easy. Three versus five, a huge fire threatening to kill them all, and enough smoke to suffocate them if they somehow managed to avoid the flames, Harry didn't like the odds.

"Well, what are we going to do with you?" the first one asked. "What do you think Big Blonde?" The figure started laughing and he pulled his wand out. "Shall we add more flames?"

"I thought we were to make sure we killed these two?" The one who'd been called Big Blonde asked. "Those were the orders."

"Yes, but first we need to get the annoying pest away from the two targets," the first one said motioning to Harry.

"Great," Harry growled under his breath. They were dealing with complete morons here. His knowledge of this was only proven more when one of the death eaters in the back of their group let out a loud scream and started dancing around. They'd been stupid enough to stand there and let their robes catch on fire.

"Amycus!" one of the other ones screeched trying to help the one called Amycus get the flames out.

"This is sickening," the first one said leaving the two battling the flames to their doom. Instead he walked over to Harry and the others only stopping when he was a few feet from them. "Looks like its three on three now," the death eater laughed. "Are you ready?"

"Conjunctivitis!" Harry screamed before anyone else could. The first death eater hadn't seemed to be expecting this since Harry's trademark move was unarming not blinding. He gave a quick thanks for being Tom's boyfriend and dodged when three blasts of green light came at him. Hagrid and Lupin dodged too thankfully, Hagrid managing to hit one of the three death eaters with a bolt when he fired his crossbow.

"Locomotor Mortis!" Lupin shouted at one of the witches in the back. She tripped and fell onto the ground the flames coming closer.

'This isn't going to work,' Harry thought to himself quickly managing to avoid more spells. He took aim at the two death eaters near the flames, both of them now on fire. "Immobulus!" He screamed hitting the death eater that had been standing and trying to help Amycus up. They both fell back then the flames engulfing their robes.

"Harry!" Lupin shouted looking slightly horrified.

"Just keep fighting!" He screamed. "Stupefy!" He had to attack the first death eater they'd seen, because while Lupin was yelling at Harry he'd tried to attack him. 'And he thinks I would be an issue!' Harry was quite pleased with his work so far doing his best to ignore the fact that he'd just probably caused the death of two people, even if they were death eaters. For now he just wanted to get out alive and if possible, save the forest. He was about to cast a spell at one of the others, but Lupin got to them first and before Harry knew it he was falling to the ground. He wasn't actually sure what happened, but he managed to collide face first with the dirt his glasses cracking.

"Don't you just love nonverbal spells?" the one called Big Blonde laughed. He grabbed Harry by the back of the robes and pulled him up using the Gryffindor as a shield. "Anyone else want to try and attack me?" He asked loudly getting Hagrid and Lupin's attention. "Now if you want your little savior here to survive, you're going to be good little wizards and put your wands down," the death eater ordered. Harry tried his best to scream no, but his body wasn't moving at all. Lupin and Hagrid of course did as they were told. "Good boys," the death eater laughed. He took his own wand and undid the jinxes on the other two death eaters they'd been fighting paying no mind to the two that'd been in the flames. "We'll give him back when we're finished with him. Jugson."

The first death eater that'd confronted them nodded and took his wand out aiming it at Hagrid and Lupin's wands. "Mobiliarbus," Jugson laughed sending both of their wands towards the flames.

"Good. Now if you don't follow us, we'll let little Potter here go," Big Blonde said walking backwards towards the entrance of the forest still holding Harry up high. "Do anything stupid and I kill him." He placed his wand to Harry's head showing them he was completely serious.

Harry's mind was utterly racing at this point, but the worst thing to him was that he'd been caught. He'd promised Lupin he'd be careful and even so he'd managed to get himself in a situation that put all three of them at a huge disadvantage. He was about to give up hope when Fang came racing through some of the flames knocking Big Blonde and Harry over hard to the ground.

"Accio wand!" Harry heard Lupin scream followed by Hagrid's own call. "Finite Incantatum!" Harry felt the feeling come back into his body just in time to realize he was actually surrounded by a bunch of flames. His skin was getting burned, but he had more important things to worry about before the situation got any worse. He only hoped that the words he were about to utter weren't for Tom alone.

"Taffy flavored Jelly beans!" He screamed as loud as he could manage. He truly didn't think anything else would work at this point. The three death eaters that'd been near him and heard him say the words started laughing.

"Taffy flavored jelly beans?" Big Blonde asked. "Some kind of last request?"

"And what a good one it is," Dumbledore said his wand to the death eater's head. "Reducto," the headmaster said quietly. Harry had never seen that spell used as an attack and now he could see why. The man's entire skull erupted under the cloak, or at least that's what it looked like. The other two death eaters that where there and conscious quickly apparated from the scene leaving behind the flames to consume everything they'd left behind. Dumbledore held his hand out then to Harry who took it gratefully to get out of the flames. "You shouldn't stay in those for long periods of time, can do horrible damage to your skin Harry."

"Thank you professor," Harry said trying to catch his breath. The truth was though the forest was getting worse by the second, smoke rising up everywhere around them. Lupin and Hagrid ran over to them then checking Harry over.

"You're completely burned!" Lupin screamed looking Harry over. "Sirius is going to kill me."

"It's alright," Harry said trying to smile, but his muscles protested in his face so he stopped trying. "I'm alive, this can be healed."

"And hopefully so can this," Dumbledore said motioning to the woods. He lifted his wand then aiming it at the fire. Suddenly the same giant wave Harry had seen at the ministry appeared engulfing the entire forest around them. For a moment Harry was scared they'd get dragged away in the current, but the water remained focused on the fire and simply flowing around the wizards and Fang. "Well then, I believe the water will do its own healing and we'll have to regrow the trees ourselves tomorrow," Dumbledore said as if nothing were wrong. "I also believe this wave in an attempt to save the forest has accidentally swept away any lingering death eaters." Harry understood what the headmaster was getting at as did the others, they merely nodded. "To the castle now."

The four of them marched, Fang of course following after them staying quite close to Hagrid.

"I'm sorry sir," Harry said when the smoke had died down some and he could get enough air to talk. "I didn't mean to use yours and Tom's secret word, it's just…-"

"It's quite alright Harry. I am rather grateful that you remembered it and were able to use it. I doubt Tom would have been happy to find out his boyfriend was found dead among death eaters," he said giving the Gryffindor a wink. "For now however, I believe you all need to go to the infirmary."

"I should have been paying more attention. That smell was a fire, not a strange scent," Lupin said looking away. Harry allowed himself to slow down somewhat so he was walking beside the werewolf.

"This wasn't your fault, I told you I was coming and we're alive and we managed to get rid of some death eaters," Harry said to him cheerfully. Lupin merely grunted. "Remus…I mean it you saved all of us. If you hadn't used the counter curse…"

"I think that's the first time you've used my first name," the werewolf said a smile tugging at his lips. "Did I earn it?"

"I just haven't before, because it was weird," Harry said looking away himself now. "I didn't want you getting mad at me so I just kept calling you Lupin."

"Remus is fine," he said placing his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry was glad that they'd gotten that out of the way, he just wished it wouldn't have took a full scale fire to do it. Even so it was over and suddenly the adrenaline that'd been running through his body started fading.

"My face is starting to hurt," he laughed as they made it to the castle steps. "Tom's going to murder me."

"Not if Sirius gets to us first," Lupin reminded him.

"Just a bit farther Harry," The headmaster said. He opened the door to the castle allowing all of them; Fang included in and shut the door behind them. Harry was so grateful to see the inside of the castle his legs nearly gave out, but he kept on going, determined not to be a burden.

"They were real cowards weren't they?" Harry asked trying to keep the conversation going. He knew if he could keep his mind working he'd be able to make it to the infirmary by himself. "One attack to their leader and they all took off running."

"I'm afraid all of them are not that cowardly," the headmaster said with a smile. "How did you manage to get out of the castle without Aderes anyway?"

"We agreed to take a break and spend time with our friends," he said laughing weakly. He knew his energy was running out, but he wasn't going to be distracted. He could fall flat on his face in the infirmary or at the least in front of the door.

"Perhaps your next break you should remain within the castle halls?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed. They had finally made it to the infirmary, Harry feeling more proud of this feat than having survived the death eater battle.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey screeched when she saw the four and Fang. Harry had been too busy trying to remain conscious to really take notice of the others, but now that they were there he allowed himself to stare. Lupin was covered in blood, it seemed like one of the death eaters may have been using a weapon too. Hagrid just looked a bit beat up, nothing too bad, but Fang was limping refusing to put weight on his front left leg.

"We have had an incident in the forest," Dumbledore explained calmly. "If you would be so wonderful as to take care of these four I need to inform the head of houses to put the castle into lock down. Harry?" The Gryffindor turned to look at the headmaster. "Thank you for calling me," he said with a slight bow of his head. "I'm glad you have so much trust in me." With that said he left leaving the four to be treated.

"Harry I'm so sorry," Lupin said again after the headmaster had left. "Those must be painful…"

"Painful?" Harry repeated the word slowly, but he wasn't sure why. He remembered there was a full length mirror in the infirmary and walked over to it so he could get a good look.

"Har-"

"Oh…" Harry said then finally seeing what the others were talking about. The entire right side of his face had been scorched so badly the skin was peeling off, blisters covering the edges that weren't as badly burnt. As he looked lower he felt the urge to remove his cloak and sure enough his arms were burnt as well. He was positive if he removed the rest of his clothes he'd see more wounds like this over his whole body. "How long was I in that fire?" He asked forcing out a laugh and looking away from the mirror. The reflection in it scared him.

"Long enough," Lupin said with a grimace. "It'll be okay though, you were right those can all be healed."

"Y, yeah," Harry said walking away to put some distance between him and the mirror. He didn't want to risk suddenly seeing himself again, seeing it made it hurt worse.

"You, bed," Madam Pomfrey ordered Lupin. The werewolf of course walked over to it as quickly as he could. "Hold!" He stopped and she took out her wand tapping his body all the blood on him vanishing. "Now take this and rest." She shoved a bottle into his hand, one Lupin seemed to know, because he wrinkled his nose at it, but took it anyway.

"Potter," She said motioning to the bed next to Lupin's. "Don't lie down yet," she warned him. "Hagrid." She seemed a lot gentler with the half-giant. "You're hardly ever in here!" She walked over to him inspecting the bruises he'd received. "Alright this should do the trick." She took out a simple bruise healing ointment and rubbed it on the few bruises he had, they healed instantly. "Now I'm sure you'll want Fang looked after right away so go ahead. You're dismissed."

"Yeh…be down stairs Remus," he said looking to the werewolf. "Dumbledore says we shouldn't be in the cabin right now."

"I can't exactly disagree with that," Lupin replied with a slight smile.

"Get better ye two…and Harry I'm awfully sorry I couldn't do more teh help."

"I'll be fine," Harry promised him. "And Fang was the one who helped everything. You did your part."

"Yes, we all did our parts in getting killed," The nurse screamed. "Out! I need to cover this boy in ointments and start regrowing his skin!"

"Yes ma'am," Hagrid said quickly. "I'll check on yeh both tomorrow!" He rushed out of the infirmary the carrying Fang and left the Gryffindor and werewolf alone.

"Alright Potter. Strip." If his face hadn't been burned it would have shown an extremely dark shade of red. "Take off all your clothes, if you need help let me know."

"All of them?" He asked in horror. He didn't mind taking off most of them, but he'd have really liked to keep his underwear on.

"All of 'em," She repeated her eyes narrowing. "You think your boyfriend has a temper try and cross me." Harry did not have the energy though to cross anyone and soon enough found himself standing naked in the infirmary. He was so glad it was just Lupin and him in the room. "Alright, this is going to sting." Sting was an understatement and Harry found himself screaming the entire time as the nurse applied the various ointments to his burns.

When the nurse had finally finished with him Harry could barely stand. He had been forced into a thin robe so his wounds could get air and then nearly had to choke down the skin growing potion. When the nurse was satisfied that Harry was completely covered in medicine inside and out she ordered him to bed.

"This will be different," Harry said looking to Lupin. "I haven't slept alone in almost two years," he laughed looking down at his bed. He was too nervous to open the bond and let Tom know what happened and Dumbledore seemed to understand that if his boyfriend did find out and come running into the infirmary, Harry would probably end up more hurt than healed. He did feel better though with all the medicine he now had in his system.

"I can't say the same however, if it'd make you feel better you can sleep with me," Lupin offered. Harry thought about it for a moment gave a small shrug and walked over to the werewolf's bed. "Hope our boyfriends don't catch us," he joked climbing onto the bed slowly. Feeling better or not he was still sore.

"I wouldn't worry about it, they won't do anything," Lupin assured him.

Harry nodded and Lupin lowered the blanket on top of Harry gently. Harry was glad to have someone else in the bed with him and closed his eyes. He quickly gave in to the tiredness and allowed himself to go to sleep.

(X)

"Tom, Draco, Ron, Hermione," Dumbledore said as the last of the students entered the Great Hall. Dumbledore for some reason had kept them outside of it. "As you can see, Harry is not here with you."

"Yeah I've noticed that," Tom growled. "Where is my boyfriend?"

"Resting," Dumbledore said sternly. "And you are not to go looking for him. You can see Harry in the morning, all of you."

"Professor…do you mind us asking what happened?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"There was a fire," Dumbledore said causing all four of them to go pale. "Harry is fine, but for now he needs to rest."

"We saw flames from the Gryffindor tower…he was in the forest," Draco said looking at the headmaster. "The fire was huge, why are we to believe he's alright?"

"Draco, I do not need Tom panicking," Dumbledore snapped. He managed to catch Tom right before the Slytherin made it passed him. "Tom, if you go see Harry now you will be doing more damage than good."

"Why didn't I just let him sit with us?" He growled trying to get away from Dumbledore. He felt horrible, if he had just let Harry spend time with him and Draco none of this would have happened.

"If you hadn't allowed Harry to go, Remus and Hagrid would be dead right now." The words made the others feel that much more stressed. "Now go into the Great Hall please. I'm sorry I cannot allow you to, TOM!"

"If you think I'm going to just sit here you're mad!" Tom screamed at the headmaster leaving all of them behind. If the fire had been that horrible and if Remus and Hagrid's life had been in danger there was only one place in the whole school where they could be at.

He made it down the halls as fast as possible, he knew Dumbledore would be coming after him. He was completely right to be paranoid too, because he noticed the headmaster out of the corner of his eye not too far behind him. "You can lock me up after I see him!" The heir screamed just as he made it to the infirmary. To hell with the nurse and the headmaster, he could deal with his punishments later. He opened the door shoving his way in, but once he was in no one stopped him. It was already after hours and the nurse was asleep in her room.

"Tom," Dumbledore whispered harshly, but the heir moved away from the door then going closer to the only bed in the room with someone in it. He realized soon that there were two people in it and was about to scream when he realized it was Remus behind Harry and not some random person. The two of them seemed to be resting peacefully, but Tom could smell the burn healing ointment and see some of the blisters on his boyfriend's face.

"This is all my fault," he said kneeling down next to the bed and taking Harry's closest hand. Lupin was holding the other one and asleep so he had no chances of getting to it. "I'm sorry. I'll let you play our game next time," he said resting his head on the Gryffindor's hand. "…what happened?"

"Some death eaters set fire to the forbidden forest. Remus and Hagrid were checking it out, Harry was with them. It seems your boyfriend remembered our secret words," he said laying his hand on Tom's shoulder. "The best thing you can do is let them rest."

"Or kill myself," the heir muttered. "I didn't even sense what was going on, why didn't he call out to me?"

"I really don't believe he was thinking straight or that he had time," Dumbledore explained. "Why do-"

"Let me stay…I'll behave. I won't do anything that stupid nurse doesn't want me too. Just let me stay here…."

"I wouldn't even allow Sirius to stay," Dumbledore said coldly. "Will you come with me or must I use force?"

"It's alright," Harry said half asleep catching both the headmaster and Tom off guard. "He can stay…just…drag the other bed over or something," he muttered.

"Harry…" The headmaster started, but stopped when Tom grabbed the bed frame and dragged it across the floor making enough noise to wake up the entire castle. "Tom!"

"You moron," Harry snickered tiredly when the bed was next to the other one, Lupin looking over his shoulder at the heir.

"Are you sure Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"He'll be fine, I'm sure Sirius will be back in here once everyone else is asleep," he said smiling at the headmaster. "You can't keep him from Remus."

"I'm sure you're right," Dumbledore said in defeat. "Please allow them to get some rest. Harry, Remus." He walked out of the infirmary silently.

"Gone," Tom said and sure enough Sirius came out from the nearby closet.

"This is mad," Harry said closing his eyes. "Let us get some sleep."

"Deal, no fighting tonight," Tom told the animagus as he climbed onto the other bed. "Do you care if I move you towards me?" He asked looking down at Harry. He didn't mind Lupin holding his boyfriend, but he'd much rather have Harry to himself.

"I can do it," Harry said sitting up, or going to. Tom ended up catching him by holding him up with his hands alone, knowing if he grabbed any other part of Harry he'd be putting him in pain.

"I'm sorry," he said once again. "I mean it; I'll never let you out of my sight again." He helped Harry over to the other side of the bed so Sirius could be with Lupin.

"Let us sleep," Harry repeated dropping one of his arms onto Tom's chest. "You promised to be quiet."

"Yeah, I did," Tom agreed quietly. "It'll be okay…I'm sorry."

"Mhmm."

Tom watched Harry as he drifted off once more. Smiling he looked over to Remus and Sirius, the werewolf was crying. It seemed that he was feeling guilty too as Sirius was repeating something quietly trying to get him to calm down.

"It wasn't your fault Lupin, it was mine," Tom said just loud enough for them to hear so they wouldn't wake Harry back up.

"Maybe this is something we should deal with in the morning," Sirius suggested. Tom didn't think that was such a great idea, but he went silent anyway. He'd promised Harry no fights.

(X)

Morning. It was usually something Harry looked forward to, unless he had a test that day, as it was a time for him to wake up and see his boyfriend beside him. To be reassured that he was not alone and to hope that the new day would be another one well spent with his boyfriend and friends. Today however he was met with the sickening realization that he was probably going to be in the infirmary for a decent amount of time. His arm that he'd draped over his boyfriend had mended only slightly and was completely covered in blisters as the side of his face had been. Just moving his fingers from that arm caused him a great amount of pain and hit bit back a curse deciding now was not the time for him to test his muscles.

He wished he could remain unmoving on the bed, but that didn't seem like it was going to help much either. It seemed the ointment had dried to the thin robe he was wearing making his back feel dry and dirty. Even worse as his senses started to wake up with the rest of him, his entire body began to throb with the pain, not to mention the heat coming off his entire body from the burned skin. He closed his eyes tightly then trying his best to sit up, but the movement brought another shot of pain causing him to hiss loudly. This of course woke the heir up instantly and he was staring at Harry worriedly looking him over.

"What's wrong?" He asked sitting up. "Did I hit you?"

"No…no it just hurts," The Gryffindor said through gritted teeth. He'd thought regrowing his bones had been bad, at least that'd only been itchy. "I guess…you should get the nurse," he said closing his eyes tightly.

"Right! Nurse, nurse, Pomfrey!" Tom yelled nearly jumping off the bed. He managed to land on his feet and dashed into the back room where the nurse slept. All Harry could do was watch and hope the nurse had something for this, the potions from the night before had seemed to work well.

Pomfrey came out seconds later being pushed by Tom so hard Harry was surprised the poor lady hadn't collided with the floor. Instead of taking it though she turned on Tom hitting him across the face with her hand.

"You are NOT supposed to be in here," she seethed leaving behind a very stunned Tom. She walked over to Harry inspecting his arm and face and gave a swift nod. "Off the bed," she ordered him. Harry wasn't sure if that was possible. He made an attempt, nearly fell over and so the nurse finally grabbed his hand and helped him out. "You're going to have to strip again."

"No," Harry said at once. "I can't, not with him in here," he said looking to Tom. There was no way he could risk the heir jumping him with the condition he was in.

"Give me some credit, I'm not about to touch you with all those burns!" The heir screamed looking hurt. "I'll turn my back," he said turning around so he was facing the door way instead of Harry.

"Better?" The nurse asked.

"Y, yeah…" While Harry didn't want Tom seeing him stripped he didn't want his boyfriend thrown out of the infirmary either. He started removing the robes only to find them stuck. "Umm….Madam Pomfrey…" He said uneasily as she stood there waiting. "They won't come off…"

"Oh dear…." She let out a sigh walking over to Harry then and examined him. "Just as I thought, the only problem when it comes to burn ointment," she muttered. "I'm not going to lie; this is going to hurt Potter. Count of three?"

"Umm…yeah, three," he said wondering if he was going to live through this. His body felt bad enough and now the nurse was telling him he was going to be in even more pain? He wasn't sure he could handle that. Wasn't like he had much of a choice though either. "Three," agreed and shut his eyes.

(TBC)

Another one finished. Ha.

(TBC)

Okay I managed to get another chapter done. It took a while before I couldn't find a decent place to stop so yeah it stopped there. So yeah please enjoy I need to go find a bed to die in.


	39. The Healing Process

I'm on chapter 39!

**Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump.**

**Warnings: Shonen ai….duh**

Chapter, 39: The Healing Process

"One…" She started and grabbed the robe to tug. Harry closed his eyes tighter and tried to brace himself. Before the nurse even counted to two she ripped the robe off causing Harry to scream bloody murder. She dropped the thin robe onto the floor, Harry's eyes widening in horror. The robe was covered in puss and blood. Tom had also turned around at his screaming only to stop at the nearest bed's edge and look down at the robe. He seemed as shocked as Harry. "Blisters popped overnight, the inside mixed with the ointment, made the robe stuck," she explained as if it was a common occurrence and in no way disturbing.

"Ri, right," Harry said weakly wishing he could just fall onto the floor and die. He could already feel pain coursing through his back, whatever the liquid that was there, be it blood or whatever causing more harm than good.

"You're going to have to bathe. We need to get rid of all those blisters," she informed him with a shake of her head. "Have to drain 'em."

"Drain them?" Harry repeated the words all the color gone from his face. "How do we drain them?"

"Well, thanks to removing the robe the ones on your back are all popped right now," she said cheerfully. "Just have to squeeze the rest of the liquid out. Then we'll worry about the other ones."

"Squeeze?" All Harry could think about was the pain that would no doubt bring. Couldn't they just kill him instead? Rip all his skin off and start over?

"Let's see…a good old fashion needle should do the trick," she said walking off leaving the heir and Gryffindor alone.

"She's going to kill me," Harry told his boyfriend when the nurse was gone. "I wish I'd have just gotten stabbed."

"You do look bad," the heir tried to joke, but the fact that he was crying kind of took all the humor out of it.

"My body will heal," Harry attempted holding his hand out to his boyfriend. "I promise you won't have a disfigured boyfriend okay?" He tried to laugh, but stopped, Tom was death glaring him.

"I could care less about your looks right now! You're in horrible condition!"

"Yeah…I am," Harry agreed. There was no sense in trying to hide his fear at the moment. He looked too awful to get away with lying.

"Alright Potter," the nurse said walking back in. "Found one, sterilized it. I'm going to have to pop every single one of these blisters, that part shouldn't hurt," she said confidently. To Harry's amazement she was right. Popping the blisters didn't hurt at all, in fact felt good to some points, because the skin in that area was no longer being pushed up by some kind of grotesque liquid. What really worried Harry was the actual squeezing part…not to mention how many blisters he actually had. They seemed to cover just about every inch of his body. "Now for the hard part," he heard the nurse say and he tensed. "You ready?"

"Just get it over with," he groaned tightening his grip on his boyfriend's hand. "If it has to be done then just get it over with."

"That's a good boy," she said. "We'll start with this big one then…"

(X)

After much screaming and time later, Harry found himself in a tub full of cold water. He had never thought he could love an ice bath, but he was more than thankful for it, because the ice instantly numbed his entire body. Better yet the nurse had assured him he could stay in it as long as he wanted, because he'd been such a "good patient" and allowed her to drain every single blister on his body. Tom's hand was now sprained.

He allowed himself to sink farther into the tub; just enough for the water to reach his chin and closed his eyes. He'd nearly given Sirius and Remus a heart attack during the draining session, both of them waking up to Harry's screams and threats. He felt bad, but Lupin told him it was okay, that Sirius and he were just glad he was okay and to scream all he wanted. He of course was in the separate room connected to the infirmary so any student that walked in couldn't see him. In fact the only one who'd come in was Tom, but he was currently gone telling Harry he'd be back after letting the others know not to bother coming to visit just yet.

"Feeling any better?" Harry looked up to see the owner of the voice and smiled up at his godfather. He was glad he could smile now.

"Yeah, this ice is a life saver," he laughed. He didn't care if any of his family members walked in really, there was so much ice in the bath it was impossible to actually see any of his body besides his head anyway. "I can barely feel a thing."

"That's good," Sirius said returning the smile. He walked over to the tub and took a seat in the chair beside it that Tom had been using. He looked down at the tub, shook his head and shoved his hand into it only to pull it out instantly. "That is cold!"

"That's the point," Harry laughed sitting back up so he could get a better look at his godfather. "If it wasn't cold I'd be sweating to death, do you know how much heat my body is giving off, because of these burns?"

"I'd say enough to cook breakfast on," The animagus grinned.

"Probably. Madam Pomfrey has already had to replace the ice twice," he said with a sigh. The fact that his body's heat had melted the ice so quickly unnerved him, but as long as the nurse could add more of it to the bath with her wand he didn't really care much beyond that. "She said with the blisters gone it would be easier to heal and re grow the skin."

"It will be," Sirius said. "Always easier once the body is closer to its original state…Harry. I'm sorry I wasn't with you guys," he said suddenly. Harry wished he hadn't. All he had heard from the night before and now today was "I'm sorry". The truth was though; he didn't regret any of it and didn't want to hear any more apologizes. They were at war with Voldemort; people were bound to get hurt.

"Sirius, people get hurt in fights, I'm healing," he said trying not to sound annoyed and failing. "I'm not mad at anyone or blaming anyone. We all did what we thought necessary to fight and we won. No one died, that's more than what happened to some of those death eaters." Sirius studied him for a moment before he seemed to understand just what it was Harry was saying.

"You…killed some death eaters?" He asked.

"I caused two of them to burn to death with Remus' help," Harry said calmly. He probably should have felt bad about it, but those people had brought it on themselves. It wasn't his fault the death eaters had been stupid enough to burn up in their own fire, even if he had helped them achieve such a fate. Maybe he'd feel bad about it later, but right now with as much pain as he was in, he felt they deserved what they got.

"That's my boy!" Sirius roared almost slapping Harry on the shoulder, but stopped short. "Sorry," he said removing his hand from near Harry's shoulder. "Didn't mean to almost make you scream," he laughed.

"Yeah, let's not put me into a coma," Harry agreed. Hearing his godfather sound so proud of him for taking out two death eaters made his mind more at ease. He knew it had been the wrong thing to do in the end. There really had been no other way around it, if Lupin and him hadn't taken the two witches down there was a good chance they'd have joined in with the other three death eaters. Had that been the case however Harry wasn't so sure if any of them would have survived the fight. He wasn't about to cheer about the fact he'd killed someone, but he was glad he was alive.

"Harry I'm so proud of you! Taking down Voldemort's followers before you're even out of school!"

"Yeah," Harry said blushing slightly. He didn't think he should be getting this much praise. Even if he had taken down death eaters, they were still humans and while killing them during the time hadn't been a problem, reflecting on it was a completely different issue. Sirius seemed to mistake Harry's change in attitude due to tiredness and stood up.

"I'll let you get some sleep," he grinned at him. "Taking down two death eaters can tire a person out!" He gave Harry an approving look and was about to leave the room when Harry called out to him. "Huh?"

"Sirius…what exactly happened to Remus? I fell asleep before I could ask him last night. He was covered in blood when we got to the infirmary," Harry said quickly.

"Blasting curse to the chest," Sirius said quietly. "He managed to be in mid dodge as it hit so he was moving, it didn't hit full on," the animagus explained. "If he'd stayed put his heart…" Harry now felt like it was his turn to apologize. If he'd been paying more attention to the entire situation perhaps something like that wouldn't have happened.

"I'm glad he's okay," Harry said. Saying sorry wasn't going to make anything better and at the least they were all alive.

"Yeah, me too. I'm glad all three of you got out alive." He gave Harry another smile and walked out of the room leaving the Gryffindor back to his thoughts. Harry really hadn't thought about using curses and jinxes that were usually used on objects on people. The effects of those spells seemed to do a large amount of damage however. He wasn't sure if he should teach the D.A. members such a strategy, but he might need to teach them how to defend against it.

"I could just have us use nonverbal spells and make them defend," he decided finally with a long sigh.

"What kind of nonverbal spell?"

"The death eaters and Dumbledore used spells that are usually used on nonliving objects as attacks last night. If that's a new strategy it's something the D.A. members should be able to counter," Harry said turning to regard his boyfriend. "How did everyone take it?"

"Ron's in a frenzy," Tom said walking over to the tub after he'd shut the door. He sat down in the chair dropping his hand into the tub to take a hold of Harry's hand. "Draco and Hermione got him calmed down."

"That's good," Harry said closing his eyes. He was surprised his boyfriend could handle the intense coldness of the bath. "Want me to raise my hand?" He asked with a laugh.

"Keep it in there," the heir warned him his eyes narrowing slightly. "Your body needs this; with the heat your body is producing your entire body can become completely dehydrated."

"I didn't even think about that," Harry admitted. Given the cold water and how numb his body was he hadn't expected to feel Tom's hand stroking his, but it was a very welcomed feeling. "Wonder how long I have to stay in the infirmary."

"You'll probably be here a week or so," Tom said closing his eyes. "I'll be right here beside you."

"No you won't," Harry snapped getting his boyfriend's attention immediately. "As soon as the lock down is over you're going to class so you can explain to me everything I'm missing. You're also going to help Dumbledore re grow the trees in the Forbidden Forest."

"You can't expect me to leave you here alone!" The heir protested. Harry was already shaking his head slowly though.

"Dumbledore needs your help. I'm just going to be here sleeping most of the time and I'm not alone. Remus is here too and Madam Pomfrey. Sirius can visit during the times he isn't patrolling the areas and you and the others can come when you're not in class."

"I am not agreeing to this," the heir said firmly. "There is no way I can pay attention to classes knowing my boyfriend is in here suffering!"

"Suffering? I can't feel anything," Harry laughed. "My nerves are completely frozen solid thanks to this bath."

"You are not helping convince me," Tom growled.

"I can't help that. You don't need to fail your sixth year, because I went and got my skin melted off," Harry said closing his eyes. "I'm just going to rest," he said quietly. He hadn't realized how tired he was getting, but somehow talking to Sirius and his boyfriend had caused him to lose half his energy and with the bath feeling so good on his wounds…

"I already told Dumbledore I wasn't leaving your side. You're never leaving my sight again, ever. I'll keep you near me no ma-"

"I'm not a dog," Harry said cutting into his dramatic speech. "I survived an attack against five death eaters, yes I got hurt, but I am alive. I can take care of myself even if I do come out damaged." He released the heir's hand then turning over in the tub. He was so glad he couldn't feel anything and could lie on his side for a while. "I'll be alright." This didn't seem to be the answer Tom wanted to hear, because he stood up from the chair walked over to the door and left of course slamming said door shut behind him. Harry winced, especially when he heard Tom and Pomfrey going at it, but soon silence filled the infirmary and he was able to drift off.

(X)

When Harry awoke some hours later it was already dinner time. Madam Pomfrey ordered him out of the tub to his dismay and dried him off with her wand. Once he was dry she started applying the burn ointment and handed him a bottle of skin regrow. To his relief the burn ointment didn't hurt nearly as much as it had the night before. He was then given a new thin robe since his old one had probably needed to be burned. She marched him into the main room of the infirmary, which was a bit hurt to see was completely empty.

"Where's Remus?" Harry asked looking down at the empty bed sadly. He'd wanted to eat dinner with the werewolf.

"Released," The nurse said helping Harry into the bed he'd been in the night before. "His wounds healed in record time and he went to help restore the forest."

"Oh." Harry wasn't sure what else to say at that point. No one came to join him during his meal and he managed to stay awake until lights out, but still not a single visit from anyone. He knew at this point that he must have pissed his boyfriend off, because even when he tried to talk to him through the bond he found it inconveniently closed. "Looks like I get to sleep alone tonight," he muttered. With no one coming he decided to lie down and try to sleep, slowly moving his body down so his head was on the pillow. He thought with the potions having caused him to crash the night before it would be no different this time, but that was not the case. Harry ended up spending most of the night awake and when his medicine wore off, no Madam Pomfrey in sight he ended up turning over onto his stomach so he could bit down on his pillow.

The rest of his night remained the same, sometimes he felt just like screaming, other times he managed to sleep, but it never lasted longer than thirty minutes. Muttering a curse he got out of bed and forced his legs to get him over to the window. If he couldn't sleep what was the point of forcing himself to endure the bed? He looked out over the field, glad that the infirmary had the same directional view as the Gryffindor tower and that he could see the Forbidden Forest was much better looking than it had been the day before. The witches and wizards of Hogwarts must have put a lot of time and energy into it, because Harry could swear it almost looked like every tree was back.

He ended up staying in the chair the rest of the night, even got to watch the sun rise for the first time in a while. Still no one came. He had thought the heir might try and sneak in after a certain time to sleep with him then sneak out before he woke up, but he was officially alone and had been all night. Scowling he looked over to the nightstand near his bed death glaring the necklace. He couldn't keep it on right now since it caused his chest to hurt, but he had kept it near him, not that it seemed to matter anymore. He stood up from the chair walking over to the nightstand and glared harder at it as if the necklace was at fault. So what if he'd told his boyfriend he didn't need constant protection? That didn't mean he wanted to be ignored! Picking up the necklace he threw it at the front door of the infirmary, the necklace hitting it and then landing on the floor completely unharmed. He hoped someone would walk in and step on it, because he didn't have the energy to go after it.

"Mr. Potter what are you doing up?" Madam Pomfrey asked entering the room. She seemed to have been awake for a while, because she was completely dressed and looked ready for a hard day's work.

"Throwing a fit?" He said looking away. "The pain started coming back."

"So you threw your necklace?" The nurse asked making a tutting noise. She walked over to the front door picking it up.

"I don't want it right now," he sulked refusing to look at it. "Tom never came back so I'm mad at him."

"Ah," was all the nurse would say to him. She placed the necklace in her personal quarters and came back out with the ointment. "Ready for some more?"

"Quite." She applied the ointment, gave him some more potion and then gave him another one to help him sleep. He muttered a thank you and lied back down on his bed, the potion working instantly.

(X)

"So Aderes is beyond reason right now, I think we should go visit Harry ourselves," Ron said when Draco had agreed to keep Tom busy so he could speak to Hermione alone. "He never went back yesterday after their fight."

"I wouldn't really call that a fight," Hermione sighed eyeing the portrait hole. "Even worse Lupin and Sirius were so tired after helping with the forbidden forest like we were they didn't go see him either. I guess he feels pretty rotten right now," Hermione agreed.

"Draco said he'd deal with Aderes, let's go."

"Alright."

Classes had yet to start again with all the teachers nearly in states of exhaustion after having to deal with the forest the day before. The upper classmen who'd been chosen to help were also feeling pretty tired, Hermione and Ron included. With any luck they could just fall asleep while talking to Harry.

(X)

After waking up around one Harry had gotten to take another two hour ice bath, but that had been the extent of it. Madam Pomfrey was refusing to let him stay in any longer warning him that he could get sick from the ice now that his body was healing more. He'd tried to get around the nurse's warning and stay in there over the time limit, but she of course knew exactly when he should get out. She didn't even give him a second to climb out himself, instead grabbing him by the arm and jerking him to his feet.

"You're healing up fine, you can handle some roughhousing," she had told him before adding more ointment once again and then sending him to bed. Glaring at the room as he was now getting pretty bored he wished someone would bring him some homework. Madam Pomfrey had shot all his hopes down however telling him classes had yet to begin and that there was no homework for him to be given.

"Just my luck," he said to himself sliding his half eaten lunch to the side. It was barely past three and he was already bored and for some reason he couldn't get most of his food down. He'd at least gotten more down for lunch than dinner the night before, but it didn't make him any happier. In fact he felt like he'd gone into a complete daze until he saw two familiar faces walk into the infirmary. "You two have no idea how happy I am to see you," he said smiling for the first time that day. "What is going on outside of this room?"

"You know the usual. Aderes is so mad he tried to throw your bed out the Gryffindor tower last night," Ron grinned. "Draco and I stopped him," he added when Harry had merely stared at him.

"What happened between you two?" Hermione asked and then she seemed to notice all the burnt skin and scarring, because she went silent and her eyes were fixated on Harry's face.

"He was being over protective, which I can understand, but it won't do us any good if all he does is stare at me," Harry said leaning back against the headboard of the bed. "And I'm fine Hermione, I look a lot better now than when I came in."

"That's horrible!" She had her hand up to her mouth now and looked like she was ready to cry. "No wonder Dumbledore didn't want Aderes in here! If he touched you…"

"Yeah, already been through that," he said grinning at his friends. "I'm alright though, really. See?" He lifted his hand and flexed his fingers. "I can move it now."

"You couldn't move your arm before?" Hermione screeched tears starting to form.

"I didn't mean it to scare you," Harry groaned looking back to Ron. He looked just as pale and worried as Hermione, just minus the tears. "You guys I'm going to be fine! I'm getting my skin regrown like Draco had and I get to take ice baths for hours at a time, which are wonderful," he said quickly, Ron had shuddered at the thought. "Honestly, I'm fine."

"If you say so," Hermione said wiping a few tears away. "Maybe you should apologize to Aderes though, he's just worried about you…we all were."

"I know, but he has our bond blocked," Harry said an idea forming in his head. "I can't wear the necklace right now it…" he decided he needed a new choice of words seeing the looks of horror on his friend's faces. "I'm too mad," he lied. "Why don't one of you take it to him and tell him I fought to keep it, but Madam Pomfrey refused to let me have it?"

"What good is that going to do, besides get him in a fight with the Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked hotly. Harry didn't mind the sudden change in attitude, mad was better than horrified to him at the moment.

"He'll know I'm not that mad if I fought for it," Harry pointed out. "He knows if I'm trying to keep the necklace around I'm not as mad as he believes."

"Works for me. I'd like to get some sleep tonight," Ron said standing up. "Where is it?"

"Madam Pomfrey's office," Harry said getting a look from Hermione when Ron walked in to get it.

"Why does she have it?" She asked no longer taking the bait.

"I threw it at the door," Harry admitted adverting his eyes. "I barely got any sleep last night, I thought he would come back once lights were out, but he never showed up once. I don't do good sleeping alone," the Gryffindor said. "I'm just not used to it."

"Well neither is he apparently. Draco told Ron the reason Aderes got so mad and tried to destroy the bed was for the same reason. He couldn't sleep and tried to blame it on how hard the bed was."

"Funny it was just fine the other night," Harry said shaking his head. "Please, I can only do so much from in here and I don't have the energy to sneak out and tell him myself. Just give him the necklace if nothing else. If you give it to him he'll either think I was so mad I didn't want it anymore, which leads to him coming to find me and forcing me to take it back or that something is wrong, so he'll come back here anyway."

"I hope you're right Harry. He almost cursed two first years last night, because they asked where you were and why D.A. was getting canceled."

"All the more reason to do it then," he said firmly. If his boyfriend was going to snap like that over such a stupid thing it was definitely time for him to make a move, even if that meant sending Ron and Hermione to give him the message.

"Got it," Ron said holding the necklace up. "This isn't going to curse me right?" He asked nervously.

"That's probably something you should have asked before going to get it, but no it won't," Harry laughed. No matter how little he saw his friends or got to spend alone with them, he really adored them.

"Well, I think the sooner we put this plan into motion and you two make up again, the better," Hermione said standing up. "You two really need to stop fighting."

"I think this is the first fight we've had in a while," Harry said trying to think back to the last one. Yes they'd bickered a bit over the Christmas holiday, but nothing serious. "I'll fix things."

"Or we can just get Dumbledore to lock him up," Ron offered.

"If he keeps trying to curse people we'll have no choice," Harry said. The friends exchanged their goodbyes then and left promising to give Tom the necklace. "What a bloody mess," Harry said using Ron's phrase. After hearing all of what his friends had to say it was no surprise he was pretty tired and stressed out when Draco came into the infirmary looking pretty annoyed himself.

"Just couldn't behave yourself could you Potter?" He asked walking over to the bed. "You went and pissed off Tom, put some students in danger, burned yourself to a crisp." He shook his head disappointingly. "Next time be good and go visit your bedroom instead of a forest."

"Draco, I'm not in the mood," Harry said irritably. "I know what Tom put you through last night and I'm sorry. He blocked our bond or I'd have called him back down here right after dinner." The words seemed to set the Slytherin off balance.

"He blocked it? He put us through all that crap screaming you hated him, when he was the one who put up the block?"

"Yes, I was not exactly having the night of my life trying to sleep alone either," Harry snapped. "First time in years," he seethed. "I wanted my idiot boyfriend back in here, but he was too busy being a git."

"No kidding," Draco said scowling. "I had to put up with him almost all night. Of course he forgot to mention he was the one ignoring you."

"He always forgets to mention the important things." They sat in silence then waiting for the heir after Harry explained to the Slytherin his plan to get Tom back in the infirmary. "Hey…" Harry asked deciding now was as good as time as any. "Our fourth year…" He stopped when he saw the look of horror on Draco's face. "So you do know."

"I know, do you?" the Slytherin asked uncomfortably.

"I know my memories have been altered and that Aderse allowed you to know more about our past than I do. Is it that bad?" he asked quietly. He didn't know why he was whispering, there was no one to overhear him.

"I think he's being dramatic myself….For the most part," Draco offered. "There are a few things that may be better being left alone."

They remained silent then, Harry knowing all too well that Draco wasn't going to betray Tom's trust and tell him anything more. Strangely enough once lights out came around his boyfriend had still yet to show up. Madam Pomfrey came to give Harry his medicine and apply ointment. Draco was kind enough to wait outside the infirmary until she was done.

"I guess he's not coming again," Harry sighed. "You should go before you have to walk back in the dark." He didn't know what his boyfriend was doing, but it better be good or he was going to kill him when he got out of the infirmary.

"Forget it," Draco said standing up. "He wants to play games like an arse let him." He pulled his wand out and aimed it at the door when Pomfrey wasn't looking and sealed it shut. "Let's see how he likes my game." He walked back over to the bed Harry was in smirking at the Gryffindor. "He's still mad about summer vacation; let's see how he likes me sharing your bed while you're sick."

Harry was going to protest, more worried about Ron, but Draco had already removed his shoes and climbed onto the bed. He didn't really want to be in bed alone; it felt too weird to have no one beside him. Ignoring the warning signals going through is mind he turned his back to Draco and closed his eyes. At least he'd be able to get a decent night of sleep.

**(TBC)**

So they are fighting again. Oh well.


	40. Healing Complete

Yes, they ended up in another fight for such a stupid reason. And yes, Tom should be mature enough by this point to ignore the fight.

And of course HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!

Warnings: It's shonen ai

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 40: Healing Complete

"You're still here," Dumbledore said looking down at Tom. All he did in reply was nod. He'd come back to the headmaster's office after Hermione had dropped the necklace into his hand and told him to go confront his boyfriend. He really didn't want to though. What right did he have any more to be around Harry after what he'd let happen? Harry had every right to be mad at him and choose someone else that could protect him, he obviously couldn't do it. He'd done so, so many times before, but this time…

"Why did I let it happen?" He asked the headmaster looking up at him for the first time that morning. "How come I didn't sense him and his situation? I ALWAYS knew before what was going on…and the one time I couldn't…" He dropped the necklace onto the floor. He didn't have the right to take it back to Harry.

"Tom, you didn't fail you just didn't know. Unlike you and Harry most of us do not have such a bond where we can feel and read each other's mind. You had your side of the bond blocked that night, did you not?" The headmaster asked walking over to him. "And Harry told Sirius he also had his side blocked. With both of you keeping your bond sealed it was impossible for either of you to sense anything."

"I shouldn't have had mine blocked! Draco and I were just playing some stupid game and I yelled at him like it was something important. Now he doesn't even want me to protect him."

"I believe his words were he didn't need your protection all the time," Dumbledore corrected him. "Don't you think he has forgiven you at this point? He let you and Sirius die the past summer; I see you still went back to him." The heir blinked at that. He'd never once accused Harry as being the reason for his body getting destroyed, not due to the graveyard or ministry incident so why…

"You're telling me he isn't mad," Tom said as things started to make some more sense. "That he didn't blame me at all."

"Sirius had a talk with him; it seems Harry took this attack as nothing more than another part of war, which Tom it is." He sat down next to the heir so they could look each other in the eyes. "Tom, according to Madam Pomfrey Harry stayed up all night the day before waiting for you to come back. When you didn't he threw a fit, a trait I'm sure he learned from you. He is refusing to eat until his body is demanding food and only then it is a little, you are really making things worse with this pointless fight."

"Why do I keep screwing things up? I'm supposed to be the one who keeps him safe!" He screamed angrily. Why did it seem like no matter what he did he was causing the Gryffindor more pain than good? "Is this because in some twisted way I'm Voldemort? Am I doing this on purpose?" He demanded earning a hit to the face from Dumbledore. He blinked at the headmaster then staring at him in shock. It had been years since his stepfather had hit him so hard.

"Tom, you listen to me and you listen well. You are human and humans make mistakes. It is because you are human and love him so much that you continue to make these mistakes," the headmaster said to him angrily. "Only through our mistakes can we learn and had you not started to realize these mistakes you would have kept causing him then yes, you would have lost him." He stood up then refusing to give the heir another look and forced him to his feet then towards the door. "Go. If you return here with that necklace I will disown you." He picked the necklace off the floor and threw it to Tom who barely managed to catch it.

The heir was still in a decent state of shock when he left Dumbledore's office and was making his way to the infirmary. The fight had been nothing more than a misunderstanding on his part. Harry hadn't wanted him to leave; he'd wanted him to calm down. Scowling he shoved the necklace into his robe pocket and moved on. The faster he apologized the sooner he could get some sleep himself.

"I always do this though," he scolded himself. "I need to stop walking out on him randomly and listen. We already had that talk, listening is important," he said repeating the last three words of his sentence again and again in his mind. If he couldn't learn from these mistakes Dumbledore had warned him he'd lose Harry for real and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. Just thinking he'd lost the Gryffindor the night before had been complete hell, to actually lose him he didn't think he could manage.

When he finally made it to the infirmary he braced himself and stared at the door. Despite his courage and conviction to move forward he could not get himself to knock or even just walk in. This lack of will ended up costing him ten minutes as he just stood in front of the infirmary door unmoving before he could get himself to raise his fist. Knocking probably wasn't the best of choices though, Harry could be asleep. Nodding he closed his eyes, opened the door only to have it slam shut on him before he could go in.

"What in the hell?" He opened his eyes glaring at the door to see Draco standing in front of him pulling his school robe on over his clothes.

"Morning Aderes," he smirked at him. Once his tie was in place he padded his robe down to get as many of the wrinkles as he could out of it. "I had a pleasant night, how was yours?"

"You…were with Harry?" Tom asked trying to keep himself under control. Just, because Draco was visiting meant nothing, he was dating Ron after all.

"All night," Draco taunted. "I enjoyed looking after him-"

"You bastard!" Tom screamed slamming Draco hard into the infirmary door. "You didn't do anything! Harry is mine!" He said one fist holding Draco against the door, the other one around his throat. "You traitor!"

"You're the one who left him!" Draco managed to get out, but Tom was hearing nothing of it. He'd only been gone a single night or had it been two? He couldn't remember, but he did know he'd never officially broken up with Harry. They were always fighting, to think that Draco would just move in like that without even asking…that Harry would accept Draco so easily. Beyond enraged he lifted Draco up by the throat.

"You better hope you grovel as well as your father," He said dangerously calm. "Because if you don't you-"

"What's going on out here? TOM!" Madam Pomfrey screamed. "PUT HIM DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"Stay out of this woman!"

(X)

Harry had no idea what was going on, but understood the gist of it. Draco had left the infirmary alone in the early hours of the morning, Harry and he had been alone all night and Tom seemed to have found out.

"For crying out loud," Harry groaned forcing his muscles to move fast enough to get him to the door. His muscles of course protested every step of the way from disuse, but he couldn't leave Draco to face Tom's fury alone. "Stop it!" He screamed at his boyfriend when he'd made it to the door.

"You stay out of this! I have nothing to say to you!"

"You have a lot to say to me," Harry snapped. "Put Draco down this moment," he growled. He was glad some of his usual amounts of energy had returned, he didn't think he could have dealt with something like this if he was still weak. "I mean it Tom, drop him."

"Why? Scared your ex boyfriend is going to harm the new one?" He hissed in the snake language, whether it was so no one could understand him or out of rage Harry wasn't sure.

"Excuse me? I didn't know I had an ex," he said coolly. "If I did though I would have enough sense not to choose my best friend's boyfriend to replace my own, no matter how much better he is." These words seemed to work, because the heir let Draco down then and turned all of his attention on Harry.

"You gave me back the necklace…"

"I had Hermione give it to you so you'd bring it back!" Harry screamed in frustration. "When I hit you the last time and screamed it was over you still brought the necklace back to me! Why is now any different?"

"Because I failed you!"

"No one failed me, I fought, I got hurt," Harry growled. "Gods why can't you learn to understand me? I'm not mad at anyone! Well I am now," he said shooting the heir a dark glare. "But it's due to the fact you accused Draco and I of cheating, not because I got hurt in battle."

"…."

"If you love me you're going to get into the infirmary right now so we can talk this out, as always," Harry sighed. He grabbed Tom by the shoulder before he made it past the threshold. "AFTER you apologize to Draco."

"Sorry Draco…"

"Seriously," Harry said warningly. "Or you aren't coming in here."

"I'm sorry!" He walked over to the other Slytherin and held his hand out to him. "I didn't mean to snap."

"Yes you did," Draco spat at him ignoring his hand and getting to his feet by himself. "Listen to your boyfriend or you're going to be finding yourself short on allies." He stormed off then leaving Harry, Tom, and Madam Pomfrey alone.

"Now you can come in," Harry said moving out of the doorway. He walked over to the bed slowly this time; he doubted his muscles would allow for anything else. "So, what's your excuse this time?" Harry asked when he'd gotten back onto the bed and his boyfriend was looking down at him. "Sit." Reluctantly Tom climbed onto the bed.

"If I had just let you play our game or at least sit with us, you wouldn't have got hurt and even worse I had our bond blocked so you couldn't call for help that night."

"That's what you're so worked up about?" Harry asked impatiently. "I had my side blocked too. You know why? I wanted to prove to you I could do things without your help." He took the heir's hand in an attempt to get him to look him. "And I survived. I made it through the battle with some wounds, but I lived."

"If I'd just been there…"

"But you weren't, and you're not always going to be. What happened over the holiday? I was attacked by some crazy death eater impersonating Percy," Harry said. "Please understand I don't want to lose you, but I can't have you watching my every move either. You're not my bodyguard you're my boyfriend," he pleaded with him. It was something he needed the heir to understand or their relationship was going to end up back where it started as master and slave and Harry knew he couldn't handle that. "I survived all summer with just Draco, I made it through the ministry…you have to trust me, I put my trust in you. If I hadn't this mark on my shoulder wouldn't be there."

"That's true," The heir admitted closing his eyes. "I screwed up, again. I think I'm more hopeless than you are."

"Oh yeah," Harry said moving his hand to Tom's hair. "I didn't mean to yell at you either yesterday, but I'm more than frustrated and I have a feeling you're going to have to earn Draco's respect and trust again too. You really screwed up."

"Yeah…yeah I did." Tom said with a nod. "I screwed up and I'm admitting it."

"Good," Harry said shoving his boyfriend onto the bed. "I might not be completely healed, but you'll get over it," he hissed locking the Slytherin's lips with his own. The heir of course reacted, his hands going to Harry's waist.

"I love you," he hissed at him.

"I love you too. Wait…" He pushed himself up and put his hand in the heir's robe pocket removing the necklace. "I believe this is mine. It's about time you brought it back." He slipped it over his neck ignoring the pain it brought when it hit one of his half healed blisters and wrapped his arms around Tom's neck. "You're slow."

"I am," the heir said and for some reason he started laughing. Harry stared at him. "I am useless-"

"Stop beating yourself up," Harry scolded him. "You are only getting so many compliments out of me."

"Right…." He bit down on Harry's ear causing him to gasp. It was one of the only places that hadn't been harmed and the heir had of course found it.

(X)

To Harry's complete and utter relief the heir and their other friends had come to visit them the next day during lunch, classes were back in session now so they couldn't come any earlier. Tom gave a complete formal apology even allowing Draco to hit him to make things even. This being done the tension had died down considerably and Harry found himself in a wonderful mood. After having been alone for the two days in the infirmary he'd even dropped the issue of Tom going to class without him. It was best if the Gryffindor could keep an eye on his boyfriend at all times anyway.

"Am I missing a lot?" Harry asked Hermione while Draco, Ron, and Tom talked off to the side.

"Not much," Hermione said eyeing the heir nervously. "Did you two swear to never fight again?"

"Pretty much," Harry sighed, but he was smiling. "I never once thought he'd attack Draco like that."

"Well, Draco's usually the one exception to all of Aderes' attacks…when he came back yesterday morning telling us what happened…"

"I'd like to say it'd be okay, but I really don't know. He completely snapped," Harry admitted stealing a look at his boyfriend. "He didn't even see Draco and me in bed, just saw Draco walking out and he completely flipped out."

"I hope he doesn't stay like that…We can't afford to have him walking around and threatening everyone." Harry nodded, but what else could he say? He barely understood the rage that his boyfriend had built up the day before. The heir having reopened the bond after they'd made up. Harry had gotten to experience head on just how strong that rage was. It terrified him how worked up Tom had gotten over such a small thing as Draco and him sharing a bed for the night. They were friends after all.

"I heard you get out soon," Draco said looking at Harry.

"Two days," Harry grinned. "I can't wait; I've been looking at this wallpaper way too long."

"Speak for yourself. I spent my entire summer here," Tom growled. Harry was glad the heir seemed back to his normal self. He wasn't about to tell the others, but the night before after they'd made up not to mention out, the heir had broken down completely and started crying. It'd taken everything Harry could think of to calm him down before Tom managed to fall asleep, Harry holding onto him tightly. Even after he'd fallen asleep though it'd still taken another twenty or so minutes before the tears had actually stopped. It scared Harry to see his boyfriend in such an emotional state and yet he was glad too, because it showed just how much more human the heir had become over the year.

"I am speaking for myself, I can't help I heal faster than you," Harry said with a grin. He liked his boyfriend as a smartass than any of his other emotions it seemed. Granted, he highly enjoyed his boyfriend when they were making out too now that he wasn't acting so aggressive.

"Git," Tom muttered. He'd started using the word after Harry had called him as such good ten or so times over the past day.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Get over it."

"No," the heir hissed at him, but instead of doing anything stupid he went for Harry's neck biting down on it.

"Well…at least he's not actually harming him," Harry heard Hermione say. If only she knew how much it actually did hurt at the moment, but he'd rather endure this than all the fighting that could go on. It seemed like after their talk they'd found a decent balance to keep their relationship going more smoothly. Harry would allow Tom to jump him when he felt like it, not sleep with him though, as long as Tom promised not to randomly lash out at people. This rule had actually gotten the heir to behave so well, Madam Pomfrey had checked Tom's temperature when he'd thanked her for taking care of Harry the day before. It was without a doubt a serious improvement. Harry just hoped that it would remain working so he wouldn't have to get Dumbledore to lock his boyfriend up.

"Yeah," Ron said looking away. "Let's just hope they don't hurt each other."

(X)

Harry was supposed to have been released the day before, but a minor fight between him and the Slytherin, Tom had wanted to join him in his bath of ice, had prolonged his stay by a day. Thankfully the nurse had stepped in and Tom had finally agreed to just sit and watch instead of jumping in, but not until after he'd caused some of Harry's nearly healed wounds to start bleeding again. Despite all that Harry had managed to merely endure the bleeding and one more day in the infirmary without killing his boyfriend.

The next day he was released bright and early and he couldn't be happier. Madam Pomfrey had given him some kind of potion the day before to strengthen his muscles so now he could walk without getting tired or his body screaming in protest. His boyfriend of course with him, Harry's first stop was the Gryffindor tower. He was not about to go around school in such a thin robe, his clothes had been taken by his friends to get cleaned days ago.

Once changed and feeling comfortably warm, the heir and Harry had been about to head for the Great Hall until Tom had reminded him they still had to take their meals in the Gryffindor tower. Harry of course didn't put up much of a fight to that. He could let his body rest a bit more while enjoying the change of scenery, anything was better than staring at the walls of the infirmary anymore.

"Where are Sirius and Remus?" He asked once he'd gotten comfortable in a chair.

"Oh that's right you were asleep," Tom said coming over to his boyfriend and sitting down in the chair next to his. "They were reassigned. They came to the infirmary to say their goodbyes, but I guess you were too tired to realize it."

"What?" Harry asked feeling extremely cheated. "We were just attacked and they get reassigned?"

"Dumbledore thought it best if they did some undercover work instead of following us around," Tom explained. He lied his head down on his arms which were on the arm rest now watching the Gryffindor. "We'll be fine."

"Yeah…it's just going to seem weird to not have them here," Harry admitted. He was going to miss his godfather and Remus, but at the same time he was kind of glad they were gone. With them no longer at Hogwarts it would be easier to move about the castle and even easier to make out with his boyfriend whenever he felt like it. "I guess we get our alone time now."

"Hardly," Tom sighed motioning to the stairs to the dorms with his eyes. "We still have them to deal with."

"Excuse us if we 'them's are such a pain," Draco snapped walking over to them and taking a seat across from the two. "We need food too."

"There's always the Great Hall for that," Tom pointed out getting a glare from Draco.

"Yes, where I can take your poison again to end up in St. Mungos where death eaters come every night to try and kidnap me," the Slytherin growled. "Why thank you 'friend'." He said the word friend so harshly Harry expected to see ice come out of his mouth with the word.

"Stop it you two," Harry said getting both their attentions. "I mean it, you're friends…no we're all friends. Draco you don't have to go anywhere and Tom you should be glad you have a friend who takes poison for you."

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Draco said with a scowl. "How is your relationship going anyway?" He suddenly asked.

"Decent," Harry said before the heir could say a word. Said heir looked annoyed that Harry had only used the word decent, but that was the only way to explain it at the moment.

"You haven't tried to kill anyone?" He asked turning to Tom.

"No."

"Good, then pretending to sleep with Potter was completely worth it," he said leaning back in the chair. "Don't make me have to do it again."

"Pretending to….Draco you didn't," Harry groaned closing his eyes. His boyfriend had never explained why he'd jumped Draco merely that he'd jumped to conclusions and now he was finding out the Slytherin had gone out of his way to make it sound like that. "Why?"

"To get him angry enough to go back to you," Draco said as if it was obvious. "He was taking too long to make up his mind so I slept in your bed to piss him off, I told you as such before getting in bed with you."

"You said you were going to annoy him by a….game…" Harry sighed then. He hadn't realized Draco's idea of 'game' meant driving his boyfriend into a complete state of utmost fury nearly getting the players killed in the process. "No more games," he said after he'd gathered himself.

"You fool, if Harry hadn't calmed me down…."

"I knew Potter would calm you down," Draco said with a smirk. "He always does, that was the point."

"You're both nuts," Harry muttered refusing to open his eyes and look at either one of them. Yes, he was glad they were no longer fighting, but half of his lash out at Tom two days before had been for nothing, because Draco had actually brought it down on himself. Now he was going to have to apologize to the heir and probably second guess all of Draco's actions until he died.

"If you have to be crazy to get results then no harm done," Draco said. Harry was about to say something, but Hermione and Ron and come into the room just then, Hermione having that determined look on her face that said she was about to overcome some great advisory.

"Alright Harry, you," Hermione said, the you of course being directed at Tom. "I took the time to write down all the homework you need to complete, pages that need to be read from every class and upcoming important dates as well as tests we have to take." She pulled out two pieces of parchment that to Harry's amusement were color coded based on classes and then even farther by homework, tests, and so on. "The teachers have all agreed to give you a few extra days to get through everything. The only problem is Slughorn doesn't think you need any extra time to study for his test today so you're going to have to take it."

"What?" Harry asked his eyes widening. Suddenly becoming better at school no longer had its perks. "I can't just sit there and take a test I know nothing about!"

"It has to do with poisons," she said quickly pulling out some of her notes. "It's nothing new really, well kind of." She bit her lip, Harry taking the notes out of her hand. "It shouldn't be too hard and I'm sure Aderes can help you."

"Thought I was just a you," the heir said a piece of toast in his hand now.

"Don't push me Aderes. I still haven't forgiven you for trying to curse those two first year students. You're lucky I didn't tell Dumbledore."

"Don't bother. If he does something wrong tell McGonagall," Harry said smirking at the heir. "He'll stop much faster."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said closing her bag. "If you have any questions just ask. I don't really think it'll be too hard to catch up, classes have only been going on for two days with everything that's been going on."

That being said the five of them ate their breakfast in silence while Harry and Tom looked over their list of homework. It wouldn't have been so bad really, but the test was worrying Harry. Even worse, he kept getting distracted by the silence in the room, so used to Tom and Sirius' bickering by now. It was going to take some getting used to not hearing everyone yelling at one another.

The rest of the day for Harry seemed to be going in a blur. He couldn't quite recall anything any of the teachers said to him much less what assignments he needed to get done. In fact, until he made it to potions class he didn't even know what time it was. He was just too busy taking in all the sights of the castle again and happy to be freed from the prison that was the infirmary.

"Golpalott's third law?" Slughorn asked, Hermione's hand going into the air. She of course began reciting it as fast as she could, Harry barely paying attention to any of it.

'You really should be focusing,' Tom warned him. 'This is no doubt part of that test she was talking about.'

'Probably,' Harry agreed looking around the room. There didn't seem to be any large pieces of parchment anywhere and if the directions were on the board he already knew they wouldn't appear until Slughorn wanted them to.

"Precisely! Ten points for Gryffindor!" Harry heard the teacher say, but his attention fast shifted from the teacher to his book. He wondered if he'd be able to use it this time around, if not he was in a good deal of trouble. Even if the heir helped him, he doubted he would if they couldn't have partners, because Tom did not believe in cheating on school tests, he wasn't sure if he'd make it through the exam alive.

"Right, so I want you each to come to my desk and take one of these phials. Each one contains a different poison; you are to create an antidote before the lesson is over. Protective gloves everyone and good luck." The teacher smiled at all of them.

"We can use our books?" Harry asked without waiting to be called on.

"Course m'boy, if you must," Slughorn said. He looked away when Tom shot him a glare.

"Alright, poisons shouldn't be too hard," Harry said trying to convince himself the lesson wouldn't be too bad. He walked over to Slughorn's desk with his group of friends each one of them grabbing a different poison. They marched back over to their cauldrons.

"First step?" Tom asked looking to his boyfriend. It seemed like he was willing to help Harry after all.

"Umm…" He grabbed his book and started flipping through the pages. "I guess we do something with our poison?" he asked looking up at his boyfriend nervously. "Preferably not get poisoned by them…"

"…You're joking right?" Tom asked. When Harry didn't give an answer the heir rubbed his temples quickly, grabbed both Harry's and his poison and dumped them into each of their cauldrons respectively. "Now what?"

"Well we usually have to boil things when they go into the cauldron…"

"…How much smoke did you inhale?" The heir snapped. He looked slightly worried, but whether it was from Harry's lack of knowledge on potions or if he really thought the Gryffindor had obtained brain damage was unknown to him. "You need to separate every ingredient in a poison that way you can use a different ingredient to stop it." When he saw Harry's blank gaze he let out a frustrated growl. "Okay, how do you get rid of fire?"

"Water," Harry replied quickly.

"What if it's a big fire?"

"You'll need a lot of water."

"Because if the fire is too big then just small amounts of water won't work right?" The heir asked him.

"Right," Harry agreed. The logic was simple enough.

"So you separate the poison so you know how much water you need in order to get rid of the fire."

Hearing it put that way Harry at least now understood the law Hermione and Slughorn had been talking about, he didn't have much of a clue how to do it though. Tom and he had spent most of their potion training sessions mixing potions not taking them apart.

"Well sometimes if you boil things they separate…but sometimes it goes the other way," Harry frowned.

"Which is why we need a spell," Tom explained. "The spell will separate every ingredient and then you need to start measuring each one. After wards you find all the ingredients that neutralize the effects of the ingredients from the poison. Then you mix those to get your antidote."

"Well…I understand now," Harry said laughing slightly. "Now to manage it."

"I'll help you," the heir assured him. Help was a complete understatement, not that it mattered. Tom just barely managed to finish his, Hermione coming close, but the poor heir had ended up also taking time out to help not only Harry and Ron, but Draco too. It seemed that the other Slytherin had been in the same boat as Harry, mixing was fine, taking apart was another matter. "We will be studying this amongst ourselves during free time," Tom said sounding extremely annoyed when it was all over.

"The only reason you got through this is due to the fact you already had this assignment," Draco countered. "If not for that you'd have failed like the rest of us."

"Failed?" Tom asked arrogantly. "I did not fail, nor did I the first time. Hermione has never done it and if she had two or three more minutes she would have finished as well. I can't help how horrible you three are at potions and Snape even got you that advance potions making kit!"

"Which still only teaches you how to mix things! I've never given it any thought to making an antidote."

"Real smart Draco. While you're poising everyone else you accidentally get some in a cut. What do you do?" Draco looked rather pale at this scenario and said nothing more to the heir. "Probably have to ask Snape for help at this point," Tom growled.

"Well then let's get it over with," Harry said heading for Snape's office instead of for the Gryffindor tower. They were in the dungeons anyway; they might as well finish all their business before running up to the tower. When no one said anything in protest Harry led the way to Snape's office and stopped at the door knocking.

"We don't have time for that," Tom said simply grabbing the door knob and letting himself in.

"TOM!" Harry screamed at him then bit back a curse, because he'd used the heir's real name so loudly. "Don't just walk into people's offices when the door is shut!"

"Why no…..that's why," Tom said his face pale and quickly turning red. "I'll shut the door," he said closing it quickly. "We should come back later."

"Why?" Harry felt himself having to ask. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! It's what he's doing," the heir said walking away from the door, which of course came open, Snape walking out of it hurriedly. "ADERES!"

"I had no idea!" The heir screamed defensively. "I'm sorry!"

"There is a reason my door was locked before you decided I was no longer in need of such a device!" Snape said to him hotly. "What is so important that you must barge into my office?"

"Draco?" The sound of a female voice got everyone, but Tom's and Snape's attention looking back to the defense teacher's door.

"Mom?" Draco asked horrified. "Wh, what were you doing?" He'd dropped his books, not that Harry could blame his friend at all. If he'd come to one of his favorite professor's office only to find his mother inside he'd probably look that way too.

"I had to leave the house," she said walking gracefully over to her son and pulling him into a tight embrace. "I've been so worried about you and Severus wasn't going to be able to stay at his own house so I've been here," she explained. Draco looked sicker.

"You shouldn't have left the office," Snape told her then. "There's no telling what students would take advantage of seeing you and report it to him."

"Yes…that wouldn't do," Narcissa said with a quick bow of her head. "Draco, please come and visit from time to time I miss you terribly…I'm very glad you are okay." She ran her hand through some of his hair, or more like patted it down more. Harry was sure his hair gel was doing its job well enough without her help. "I wish I could have visited you while you were in St. Mungos…"

"It's fine," Draco snapped taking a few steps away from his mother. "I'm fine, you're okay…You've obviously have Snape to take care of you," he said quickly.

"You will come to visit won't you?" His mother asked again.

"Of course he will," Tom grinned throwing his arm around Draco's shoulder. "In fact we came down here just for that, these fools need help in potions, too much for just me to handle," the heir explained with a dramatic sigh. "No, I need gre…Snape's help too." He turned to look at Snape then. "You will help won't you?"

"That would be wonderful! I could see Draco every time he came to practice!" Narcissa said brightly clapping her hands together. "Severus, I'll help clean up if it's a problem."

"No of course not," the potion master said his eyes narrowing. "Just what exactly is it you five need help with?"

"Three," Tom said returning Snape's glare. "And separating potions for antidotes."

"Fine. We will schedule meetings around Dumbledore's-"

"That won't be necessary," The heir said stopping Snape. "I'll take care of Harry's learning. Make sure these three learn." The heir took Harry's hand then leading him away.

"I would have thought you of all people Draco would have been able to manage that," Harry heard Snape say and then felt a strange emotion go through their bond. Harry turned on his boyfriend the second he realized what it was.

"You sabotaged Draco and Ron's antidotes," Harry said not quite believing the words he was saying let alone feeling through their bond. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Pay back," Tom grinned at him.

"I thought we agreed no revenge!" Harry groaned. "We were going to just get alon-"

"I meant for getting us back together! Snape wasn't going to tell him he'd brought Draco's mother back so I went around him. Now Draco can see his mum whenever he wants," The heir said folding his arms across his chest and giving Harry a smug look. "Or would you rather Draco not see the one parent who actually loves him?"

"I didn't say that…I just didn't look at it that way," Harry said knowing he now owed the heir another apology. Instead of saying it though he kissed the heir deeply.

"I think I like the physical apologies more than the words," Tom grinned at him and returned the kiss. Harry couldn't agree more at the moment.

(TBC)

So Tom finally did something for Draco. It took him long enough eh?


	41. Another Memory

Wow just a few days ago we were still in the 30s…and now the story is in the 40s.

Warnings: It's shonen ai

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 41: Another memory

"Just one…" Harry pleaded with his boyfriend. They were on their way to Dumbledore's office for another lesson, one that Harry really wanted to contain a trip to their fourth year. "I just want to see more of the World Cup…I'll study harder."

"I have you studying almost every second you're awake," the heir snapped. Harry thought about that a second knowing it was true and wondered what else he could barter. They were almost at the headmaster's office and he was going to have to think of something fast or else he'd never get to see Tom's younger form again.

"We'll have sex in the bathtub," He said instantly, Tom nearly fell over at that grabbing the wall for support.

"Wh, what?"

"You heard me; I'll willingly go to sleep with you in Hogwarts in the bath if you let me see another memory from my fourth year during the World Cup. Is it a deal?"

"I shouldn't have to make deals with you to get you to sleep with me, we're a couple," the heir said his face bright red, but Harry could sense his defenses weakening. If there was one thing to get the heir to do whatever Harry wanted it was for the Gryffindor to agree to sleep with him. "You must really want to see your memory," Tom said laughing once he'd gotten himself straightened up, his confidence back in place. "Well I suppose I could allow that, but first when will this exchange take place?"

"Tomorrow night," Harry said at once. "We see the memory tonight, tomorrow I'm all yours. Quidditch practice isn't for another two days; D.A. is done for the week. You'll have all night to do what you want with me after dinner," he added the dinner part knowing the heir would drag him away without letting him eat first.

"Deal," Tom said grabbing Harry by the hand. "Let's go see your fourth year," he was nearly dragging the Gryffindor to Dumbledore's office now to Harry's delight. He kind of felt bad for having to make tradeoffs with the Slytherin too, but he already knew if he didn't do things like this that he'd never get to see any of his fourth year memories until Dumbledore ran out of things to talk about, in other words, never. "Just while we're at the World Cup?"

"I want to see what happened after we shook hands. If you stopped hating me before the cup was over that means we talked again while we were there right?"

"Yes," the heir agreed a smile tugging at his features. "We met again and had some fun."

"That's all I want to see," Harry said simply. He didn't think it was such a big deal for him to see such an innocent memory, but then nothing was ever simple with Tom. They made it to the headmaster's office in record time Harry was sure, the heir not even knocking. "You'd think you'd have learned from last time to knock," Harry said winning a glare from the heir.

"Dumbledore doesn't make out with people in his office," Tom said with a scowl.

"I should hope not," the headmaster said looking at the two students. It seemed they had caught him in the middle of feeding a now full grown Fawkes. "I see you're ready for tonight's lesson."

"About that," Tom said leaving Harry behind at the desk. "I decided we should let Harry see some more of the fourth year memory." Harry had to bite down on his hand to keep himself from saying anything. Seeing the memory had been the last thing Tom had wanted to do, but if that's what it took for him to view it he'd go right along with the acting.

"Was it now?" Dumbledore asked raising an eyebrow. He didn't seem to buy it.

"Okay, our idea," Tom said giving Harry a quick look. "We want to see it."

"What has Harry promised you?" The headmaster asked with a laugh. He motioned for Tom to take a seat and closed the door to his office before sitting down himself. "I'm sure it must be something grand for you to have changed your mind so suddenly."

"Grand enough," the heir said immediately. "Completely, let him see it." Laughing the headmaster stood up to retrieve the memory from his cabinet.

"I swear Harry; if I had known how desperate he was for physical contact I would have hugged him more as a child."

"This does not concern you," Tom growled at the headmaster despite the fact it did. He was in the memory after all and it was his pensive they were going to use in order to view the memory.

"Calm down," Harry laughed placing a hand on his boyfriend' shoulder. "Really, he's getting the memory." He kissed his boyfriend and took his hand as a means to keep the heir under control while the headmaster set everything up.

"I'll be honest, I did not expect you two to agree so fast to see the next part not that it is anything to really hide." The headmaster poured the memory out and waited for the two students then. "Nothing to actually see if we're only viewing...some parts?" He asked Tom who nodded.

"Wait, you're not going to show me some kind of edited version are you?" Harry asked hotly. What was the point of viewing a memory if it was going to be blanked out in random spots?

"No Harry, I meant just viewing some of the memory and not the entire thing."

"Oh…no I think viewing the entire fourth year would take too long," Harry grinned. "I'll get it out of him soon enough. Might be something we can do over the summer. I just want to see a little bit more."

"Alright then. After you two," the headmaster said taking a step back so they could enter first. Despite Tom's enthusiasm seconds before he looked annoyed now that they were actually going through with it.

"I won't get mad," Harry promised.

"I'm more worried about you making fun of me," the heir said a scowl on his face before going into the memory. Wondering what that could possibly mean Harry followed. They appeared back where they had left previously, or perhaps a few moments after that, because the game had already started.

"Stupid game," Tom muttered looking down the aisle. "I'm all the way over there," he said motioning to the seats Dumbledore and his younger self were in.

"Yeah I know," Harry snickered. "Wait…that means this is actually my memory," Harry said turning on the heir. "You actually removed my memory and gave me false ones?"

"Of course not! I removed your memory and got rid of the charms on it during the Christmas Holiday." Harry stared at him for a moment unsure of what to do. The fact that his boyfriend without his permission had just gone and taken some of his memories did not sit well with him.

"You are never to do that again unless in dire circumstances," Harry said. He wanted to hit the heir really, but something unexpected had already happened in the memory. The Quidditch game had actually taken a break. "I don't remember this…"

"Of course you don't," Tom said looking away. "If there's a break then you would have done something besides look at the game, which would have meant giving you false memories. Instead we just blocked out the whole break."

"You are unbelievable," Harry sighed. His younger self had said something to his friends and walked off, the three of them following closely behind now. Harry wondered where exactly his younger self was going when he got in line at the concession stand. Luckily for his younger self only two people were ahead of him.

"Oh I'm sure you're going to think that a few times," the heir muttered. Sure enough just as the words left Tom's mouth his younger form came out of nowhere getting behind Harry in line.

"What are you doing here?" the young Aderes asked his eyes wide now as he looked at Harry. "I thought I was the only one foolish enough to run off and risk missing the show."

"What do you want?" younger Harry asked looking mildly annoyed. "Malfoy's house elf refuse to listen to you?"

"I don't use house elves," the younger Aderes said looking offended. This got the younger Harry's attention and he looked away then.

"Sorry. I just figured…"

"Guess you aren't so great a thinker are you Harry Potter. Did you miss the fact I'm here with Dumbledore?" younger Aderes asked hotly. "Do you think he would have brought someone he didn't get along with to this game?"

"I…I didn't think about that," younger Harry admitted. "You were getting along with Malfoy and…"

"I'd like one chocolate mint ice cream," the younger heir said having cut in front of Harry while he was apologizing.

"HEY!"

"Pay attention next time," younger Aderes said smirking at younger Harry. "I like my sweets."

"I was right, you are a git," he said shoving passed the younger Aderes. "Chocolate please."

"Don't take it the wrong way," younger Aderes said dropping a few galleons on the counter when the younger Harry had received his ice cream. "See, I'll pay for it to make it up to you."

"Then why did you cut in front of me in the first place?"

"I was hot," the younger Aderes said licking his ice cream, his eyes on Harry. "And before you bring it up again, I didn't ask to join Malfoy; it was his stupid father's idea."

"And Dumbledore had to come, because of Fudge…" the younger Harry said putting two and two together." So…you got stuck entertaining Malfoy." The thought seemed to amuse the younger Harry, because he started laughing. The laughter of course annoyed the younger Aderes though who grabbed Harry by the wrist with his free hand and took a bit of his ice cream. "HEY!"

"Not too bad," the heir said swallowing it.

"I can't believe you just did that!"

"Want some of mine?" He held his ice cream out to Harry looking at him innocently.

"You've already licked half of it. I don't want your germs," the younger Harry glared.

"It's not like I'm sick. Come on, its chocolate mint, it's much better." He waved the ice cream around now in front of Harry's eyes like he was trying to hypnotize him. "Just a small taste…"

"What did you poison it?" Harry demanded.

"I just ate some! If it was poisoned I'd already be dead, just come on and try some!"

"No!" This fight carried on for another three or so minutes before a horn blew getting both boys attention. "Gah! The game started back up!" Harry screamed starting to make a run for it. The younger Aderes didn't seem too happy about this, because he grabbed Harry by the back of the shirt and in one swift moment the poor Gryffindor boy was back in front of him. "Let go," he said dangerously.

"Try the ice cream," the young heir said holding it in front of him again. "Now."

"Get off! Why are you so-" his words were cut off with the younger Aderes ramming the ice cream into Harry's mouth. When he seemed sure that Harry had tried it he removed the cone and waited for him to swallow.

"Was it good?" He asked letting the young Gryffindor go.

"You're mad!"

"I asked if it tasted good," he repeated this time sounding cold.

"Yeah…it was good," the younger Harry said.

"Good." It seemed like that was all the heir wanted, because he walked off with what was left of his ice cream then leaving behind an extremely and emotionally disturbed Harry.

"…I'm not even sure how to respond to this," the present day Harry said turning to face his boyfriend. "What was so important about getting me to taste the ice cream?"

"I just wanted to see if you liked it…you know if we had anything in common," he said looking away.

"So you attempt to choke me," Harry asked in disbelief. "Wow. I'm really beginning to question if I want to know about my fourth year."

"I believe now is a good place to stop?" The two looked at Dumbledore surprised; it was the first thing he'd said a word since they'd entered the memory. The couple nodded though and soon they were back in Dumbledore's office.

"Does it get worse?" Harry asked looking to his boyfriend when they were seated again.

"I'd say that was pretty mild," Tom admitted.

"Great…" The Gryffindor let out a controlled breath. It wasn't so much that having ice cream shoved down his throat was a bad thing, but how the heir had been reacting and his attitude. If that was how angry he got over ice cream there was no telling what he did with concern of much larger issues. "Any scars on my body that actually came from you?"

"No," Tom snapped.

"Well at least that's a start," Harry muttered. "Professor Dumbledore, I apologize for not completely believing you when you told me he was much worse as a child. I really didn't think it was possible."

"It's quite alright Harry. I had known beforehand that your memories were not intact and thus might question such a statement. Tom death glared both of them, but remained silent.

"…That's what the look was for during your birthday party," Harry said suddenly getting the other two's attention. "When I forced a piece of my cake into your mouth."

"Maybe," the heir said stiffly.

"I got revenge without even knowing I needed it," the Gryffindor laughed. The heir glared at him, but it only lasted a second before he started laughing himself.

(X)

The lesson went uneventful after that. Harry fulfilled his promise the next day and the next few weeks were filled with nothing, but homework. Harry was having a hard time catching up with all of it, even though he'd only missed two days in those two days on top of what he received every day after that was hard to balance. Tom of course helped him, but he found himself having to review almost everything three or four times before it would stick. Hermione claimed it was due to the fact they were rushing through everything so quickly. It was with great happiness then that Harry finally dropped the last piece of finished homework into his bag.

"Finished!" He screamed happily. "I have gotten through all of my horrible work and now I have some free time," He said closing his eyes, or started too. Tom was standing in front of Harry his arms crossed at his chest looking down at him. "What?" He asked sitting up in the chair. They were in the Gryffindor common room, it was nearly empty actually, but that had just made it easier for Harry to finish.

"You're not finished with everything," Tom said shaking his head. "Come on, we have to go."

"Go?" Harry groaned. "Where are we going?"

"Did you forget what today was?" Tom asked somewhat impatiently. He was standing in front of the portrait.

"Yes," Harry sighed getting out of the chair. He still didn't know what today was, but he followed the heir anyway. "It's not another meeting with Dumbledore is it? Or with Snape?"

"….I can't believe you actually forgot," Tom sighed. He wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder and pulled him close. "Today's your first Apparition lesson."

"What? No, not more work!"

"You need to know how to do this," Tom snapped. Harry hated this form of travel, but he also knew how important it seemed to be in the wizarding world too. With a small grunt of protest he followed the heir to the Great Hall. When they arrived Harry saw where most of the Gryffindors had vanished off to and took a spot next to Ron.

"Was beginning to think you wouldn't make it," Ron whispered to him.

"Yeah, was kind of hoping I wouldn't," Harry whispered back.

"Good morning. My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks."

'Twelve weeks?' Harry asked the heir mentally sobbing. 'Twelve?'

'Shh!'

"I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition Tests in this time. Your attempts will be done merely within this room, do not try and get through the barrier less you fancy spending time in St. Mungo's." This of course got Harry's entire group of friends looking somewhat sick. The last thing any of the five wanted was to be in an infirmary or having to visit one of their friends there. "I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet in front of you."

Everyone began moving around quickly to try and find a decent location, lines ending up being formed as there were so many of them. While everyone else was trying to run for the front of those lines, Harry was looking for the back hoping to be the last one called. If he got lucky maybe they wouldn't even have a chance at getting to him, there were a good amount of people after all, it could happen.

'What are you doing?' the heir demanded when he'd spotted Harry.

'Trying to avoid learning?' Harry asked, the heir glaring.

'You need to know this.'

'It feels weird,' Harry sighed. 'Do you have any tips?' he hoped maybe the heir would be able to give him some possible pointers and make things better.

'You learn to ignore it after a while,' he said with a shrug. 'The more you do it, the better.'

'You better not just be saying that to get me to do this,' Harry warned him. The heir had already walked off though to stand next to Hermione.

'Just pay attention,' he told Harry before their mental bond went silent. It hadn't occurred to Harry that talking back and forth could cause them to lose focus and thus problems.

"Remember the three D's now…Destination, Determination, Deliberation! You are to think of your destination…this time it will be your hoop." Having seen people getting in line, the last thing Harry had expected was to have his own hoop, but it turned out that everyone had gotten one. He'd have to try with all the others at the same time.

'No wonder he didn't force me to the front,' Harry thought angrily.

"Then you focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning enter you. Allow it to flow from your mind to every particle of your body! And I mean every part."

'Sounds wonderful,' Harry thought nervously and then remembered he was supposed to be focusing on the hoop.

"And last, you must turn on the stop and say the incarnation deliberation. Everyone ready?" There were some mutters and others agreeing loudly, but that was about it. "Alright then, on the count of three. One…two…Three!" A huge shout of Deliberation from everyone filled the room…and not a single person moved. A good deal of students fell over, some colliding into other students causing both to go down. The instructor didn't seem surprised at that, but Harry was. Both Hermione and Tom were standing where they had been, though completely balanced.

'He never learned how to Apparate.' This thought had never occurred to Harry it did however explain a great deal of things, such as why the heir simply hadn't taken off from Hogwarts over the summer and Apparated to the burrow or privet drive. He now had a good time line as well of when Tom had ended up going into the necklace. And wasn't homework taking longer than usual? 'All of this stuff is new to him now…no wonder he's been so irritable,' Harry thought looking back to his boyfriend.

"Let's try again everyone!" the ministry worker said pleasantly. "One…two….three go!" Another round of shouts of the word deliberation. And once more everyone remained in place. The ministry official tried to give them more tips, but no one seemed to be getting any closer until at one point someone managed to Apparate, surprisingly not Tom, but Susan Bones who had gone and forgot her left leg where she had been, the rest of her in her hoop. After that Harry wasn't sure if he ever wanted to try again. His focus was constantly being broken and he didn't feel the need to leave behind any kind of random body parts. "Splinching or the separation of random body parts," the wizard said without emotion. "This is what happens when we forget to be determined. Now, let us try again."

'He's completely mad,' Harry thought to himself focusing on the hoop enough now to make him sick. He wondered what would happen if he managed to Apparate before his boyfriend. 'Not that it's going to happen,' he thought with a smile.

"Two…THREE!" And still nothing. The hour was just about up when the wizard said they'd try again next week. He was about to leave dismissing everyone when Tom came out of nowhere nearly barging into the man. They exchanged a few words, the wizard looked somewhat interested, shrugged and started following Tom back to where he'd been standing. The room was almost cleared out at this point so it didn't take long for Harry to get over to where his boyfriend was.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously. Tom and Hermione were standing together Tom holding both of Hermione's hands, the two of them focusing on a single hoop.

"Trying to see if something works," Tom muttered.

"Don't trip," Harry smirked standing back with Draco and Ron.

"Are you both ready?" The wizard asked Hermione and Tom nodded. "Alright. One…two….three!"

"Deliberation!" The two screamed together turning. It was an amusing enough sight, looking almost like a dance before the two vanished…and appeared not even a foot away from where they'd been standing.

"Well that was a waste," Tom growled looking like he was ready to set fire to the hoop.

"Interesting though that you can manage it together, but not alone," the ministry wizard said rubbing his chin.

"We'll try harder next time," Hermione promised.

"Nonsense, I'd like to see you two do that again next time. Practice staying in sync." The wizard waved at them then walking out of the room.

"Does that mean he'll be sleeping with you for a while Hermione?" Harry asked when they were alone.

"NO!" She screamed her face bright red." Don't you dare even think that!"

"I was just joking," Harry said with a grin. He wouldn't have allowed his boyfriend to go off with her anyway. "That was kind of cool though."

"Yes, and you were right Harry, it feels odd," she said. "Like it's squeezing you."

"Hey, some of us haven't done it yet! Don't ruin it," Ron growled coming in between Harry and Hermione. "I for one can't wait until I can do it."

"So you'll be waiting forever?" Draco asked. "I suppose I'll have to make sure I learn so you can side along-"

"You aren't Aderes!" Ron screamed causing Draco to start laughing.

"We couldn't survive with two of them," Harry agreed. "Just look at what happened to the time line, because of the…right." He went silent then at the looks he was getting. He'd forgotten Tom and him hadn't exactly shared every detail of what they'd learned from Dumbledore. "I bet it'd implode," he said trying to turn it into a joke.

"Probably," Ron said joining in with the laughter.

'Don't do that again,' Tom warned him.

'It slipped, sorry.'

Later that night Harry was determined to get to bed early, instead he was being forced to stay up. Every time he drifted off even slightly his boyfriend would grab his arm and pinch him as hard as he could. After a while Harry's arm was completely bruised.

"Will you stop?" He demanded angrily. "What's the deal waking me up every five minutes?"

"It's time for our meeting," the heir said simply.

"Meeting? Dum-"

"Our meeting," Draco said taking a seat. "He's asleep we have all the time we need."

"Our meeting?" Harry repeated the words now more awake. "What kind of meeting and why isn't Ron involved?"

"His birthday you prat," Draco said shaking his head. "And you call him your best friend."

"He is my best friend!" Harry snapped. "I'm half asleep, give me a break."

"So," Hermione said cutting everyone's attention. "What should we do for him? He'll be coming of age, we can't have a big party like we did with Aderes, but we can still do something for him."

"I was thinking a surprise party," Draco said motioning to the common room. "I'll keep him upstairs all morning, you guys can deck it out and when he comes down we can celebrate."

"Think we can get away with that, this room is kind of for everyone," Harry said uneasily.

"What about the room of requirements?" Tom asked then. "If we use that we won't even have to put up the decorations."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Hermione beamed. "We can make the cake a day before and have Dobby bring it! He can celebrate too." And suddenly Hermione was off with a long list of plans that everyone had to do in order for them to get everything done for Ron's birthday. When two hours had passed and they each had their list they were finally able to go to bed. Harry was so happy once he changed his clothes he jumped right onto his bed and hugged his pillow.

"I'm exhausted," he yawned.

"What, you can't hug me now?" The heir asked annoyed. Snickering the Gryffindor let go of the pillow and put his arms around Tom.

"The pillow's softer," Harry grinned. "Why didn't you tell me you'd never Apparated? I'd just assumed we were going to go in there and you were going to piss everyone off," he laughed nuzzling his neck. "It was a nice change."

"You enjoyed seeing me fail?" The heir asked his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"No, I enjoyed seeing that there's actually something we get to learn together."

"Whatever." The heir hugged him closer then and Harry managed to drift off peacefully.

'I'm glad you guys are thinking of Ron…I forgot he'd be the second one to come of age.'

'And you'll be the last,' the heir taunted kissing him on top of the head. Harry wasn't sure he liked that idea. Knowing his boyfriend he would probably try and force Harry into doing things he didn't want to once they were out of school and Harry wouldn't be able to do a thing about it, or at least shouldn't. He'd defend himself anyway.

(X)

The weeks started flying by again, Harry barely able to keep up with them. He often found himself thinking about summer holiday and how he couldn't wait to help the order over the summer. Surely Sirius and Remus would allow him to join in once his birthday had been celebrated and he was of age. That thought alone kept him going and studying hard with the heir as well as keeping every D.A. member on their toes. In became so blurred Harry started marking his days by events instead of their names. Monday's were now just referred to as D.A., free time was study, Saturdays was Apparation, any other time was considered class or random, the random referring to whenever Dumbledore called them to his office. In the past few weeks however they had only seen the headmaster once and that was to say hi in the hallway.

To say that the apparation lessons were getting any easier was a joke. Not even Hermione and Tom had managed to move an inch, them getting together and trying to move as one seemed to have been a lucky fluke the first time. This of course made the heir that much angrier to the point Draco, Ron, Hermione and not even Harry wanted to deal with him, especially on Saturdays. Harry had taken to studying with Hermione instead, even going up to the dorm to go to 'sleep' before the heir came up. Sometimes he really managed to sleep, other times he had to force himself to stay quiet while the heir sat and cursed. Harry wished he could comfort his boyfriend, but the first few times he'd attempt he'd left wondering how he had managed to get away from it all alive. At the very least it'd be Ron's birthday soon. Maybe he could somehow get the heir relax during the party. Maybe if they invited Dumbledore?

"Hermione?" He asked later that day when he'd gotten her alone. "Do you think it would be possible to invite one more person?"

"Who?" She asked curiously. "I thought we got everyone."

"I thought it might be best to invite Dumbledore to help me keep an eye on Aderes…"

"I would, but…don't you think that would make him mad Harry?" She asked uneasily. Harry stared at her. "I know it doesn't make sense, but I really think if Dumbledore showed up for Ron's birthday, even if it was to watch Aderes, I think Aderes would kill half the members there…"

(flash)

"Because I hated you!"

(flash)

"Yeah," Harry said shaking his head to get the memory out of his head. "You're right, it wouldn't be safe." If Tom had gotten pissed off enough at him his fourth year, just because of Dumbledore talking about him, the headmaster going to Ron's party would be near the end of the world for the heir. "It was just a thought"

"And a good one…if your boyfriend wasn't a mass murderer."

"Good point," Harry sighed. Just then the murderous boyfriend came stomping into the common room, shot Harry a dark glare and went up the stairs into the dorm. "I guess I should go see what's wrong…"

"You already know what's wrong," Hermione said. "I don't see what the big deal is…I can't do it either."

"He's not used to not being able to do things," Harry said heading for the steps. "If I'm not back for dinner, send in Dumbledore or McGonagall," he said. He headed up the stairs to the dorm, waited a few seconds and finally knocked. "I'm coming in Aderes," he warned him walking into the room. He spotted the heir on the bed staring up at the ceiling his hands behind his head. "Are you okay?"

"No," he said evenly.

"Why?" Harry asked gently walking over to the bed. "Because of you can't Apparate yet?"

"I've been trying and trying," He screamed suddenly turning around on the bed to face Harry. "I've been going out to the woods practicing and I still can't…"

"Tom…you realize unless you go almost fifty miles into the forest there's still a barrier against apparation…right?" He asked shocked that his boyfriend had forgotten something like that.

"What…?"

"Yeah…" He sat down on the bed. "You're letting this get to you and you shouldn't. There's still nine weeks left for you to get through this."

"I'm…my brain dropped to the level of Weasley's," Tom groaned closing his eyes. "I'm an idiot…"

"Just worked up," Harry assured him. "Why don't you just ask Dumbledore for some help?"

"Maybe…"

"Okay, I'll ask him."

"No…forget it," he said wrapping his arms around Harry. "I'm too tired to think about this stuff. I'll just deal with it later…"

"Good so you won't kill anyone at Ron's party?"

"No," he laughed kissing him. "Of course not."

"Good," Harry said in all seriousness.

(TBC)

Well then another chapter.


	42. Celebration

And so we're on to chapter 42 now, because of the fix ups…fun.

Warnings: It's shonen ai, slash, yaoi, gay, whatever.

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump. I've used (flash) a few times too, it's just a matter of someone seeing a memory or remembering something suddenly and then it's over just as quickly.

Chapter, 42: Celebration

Harry was glad that Tom and he had, had the nice talk in the dorm, because suddenly the heir seemed a great deal happier afterwards. Perhaps his first attempts at cheering the heir up had just been too soon, because now Tom was being decent to everyone in their group and homework was actually being done at a good pace. The Gryffindor truly envied his boyfriend's brain at that point, wishing he could learn new things that quickly. It wasn't worth getting depressed over though and when the morning of Ron's Birthday finally arrived, everyone involved was in a great deal of excitement.

Hermione had run up into the boy's dorm and waved to Tom and Harry to get things into motion and then ran back off. The signal given Harry quietly climbed out of bed and walked over to Ron's.

"Hey," he whispered poking Draco in the arm. "Get up." To Harry's surprise Draco jerked up his hand going for the nightstand where his hand clasped nothing. Looking horrified, he turned to the nightstand allowing his hand to drop. "How many times have you done that?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow.

"I guess it's programmed into my head when you wake me up," Draco muttered moving off the bed. Of course the quick movements had woken Ron up, which was not part of their plan.

"Stupefy." The red blast came from behind Harry and Draco hitting Ron square in the head. The Gryffindor gave one look and fell back onto his bed out cold.

"Aderes!" Harry growled turning on his boyfriend. The Slytherin still holding his wand just shrugged.

"Had to keep him asleep somehow," he said as if he'd done nothing wrong. "He's asleep isn't it?"

"He's unconscious," Harry snapped. "There is a big difference." He walked back over to his boyfriend to grab his wand, but the heir easily kept it from him and shoved it into his robe pocket. "You better not do something like that at the party."

"It was the easiest way to keep our plans on track," Tom snapped back at him. "We worked hard to get everything done on time." They both turned to look at the door when they'd heard it close. Draco had left them behind to bicker.

"Go help him," Harry said opening his trunk so he could change. "I'll deal with Ron since you already screwed up our plans."

"How did I screw anything up?" Tom demanded. "I put him back to sleep!"

"Draco was supposed to stay here with him, but obviously it's impossible to trust us to work together. GO!" Harry ordered him. The heir gave him a dark glare, but nodded. When he made no other moves to leave the room Harry swallowed his anger and looked at him. "Why are you still here?"

"I want a kiss," the heir said simply. Anger now gone replaced with complete amusement the Gryffindor walked over to his boyfriend and kissed him deeply. "Better," he said when they'd parted lips. "I'll see you at the party." He kissed Harry again, this time on the neck and left the room.

"Weirdo," Harry laughed pulling his robes on. At least his boyfriend hadn't jumped him while he was trying to get his clothes on to get the kiss. When he was finished, he turned back to Ron who was slightly twitching. It seemed the heir hadn't used that strong of a stunning curse and he'd be waking up sooner than expected. "Morning," Harry said when Ron had finally come too. "Tried to wake you up you didn't budge. Up late?" Harry asked with a grin.

"What?" Ron asked rubbing his eyes. "No…no your bloody boyfriend hit me with a spell," he said angrily. "You need to keep an eye on him!" It amused Harry even more that Ron had seen his boyfriend cast the spell, but didn't seem to have noticed that Draco and Harry had been standing right next to him.

"Oh sorry about that," Harry half lied. "It was a joke."

"Well send him to Fred and George's shop so he can learn, because he has a really twisted idea about what jokes are." The Gryffindor got up then so he could change. Harry noticed his eyes go to the foot of his bed and seeing nothing look slightly disappointed.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked tilting his head. He'd of coursed picked this up after seeing Tom do it so much.

"Nothing," Ron said quietly. Getting dressed for Ron though seemed to turn into a war, because he spent fifteen minutes ripping his pajamas off and forcing his robes on.

"We're going to be late if you don't hurry. I sent the others ahead," Harry said then going for the door. "We have an emergency D.A. meeting, come on."

"A what?" Ron asked sounding that much grumpier. "Why are we having a D.A. meeting a day ahead? Does that mean we have to have another one tomorrow?"

"Afraid so," Harry said looking distraught. "I'm sorry Ron, something bad happened last night; I need to make sure the others are prepared."

"What happened?"

"I can't talk about it, not until we're at the room of requirements." These words at least got Ron moving faster to the point they were almost running to the room of requirements. That was okay with Harry, as they were already ten minutes late, but he doubted that was going to be an issue. When they arrived at the room of requirements, both of them had to stop to catch their breath before Harry knocked. "Here," he gasped doing his best not to laugh. Ron was still looking pretty annoyed. No doubt about not getting any gifts, Harry knew he was going to love this get together. The door swung open and they were let in, the room pitch dark.

"Blimey, Harry what's the deal? I can't see a thing and even wishing for light isn't working," Ron said. There was a loud crash and Harry heard Ron cursing then, Harry of course just started laughing.

"Sorry. Now guys," he snickered.

"Happy birthday!" Came the loud chorus from around the entire room the lights suddenly coming back on. Harry was glad they'd done this. Ron's face had completely lit up, Harry didn't think he'd ever seen his friend this happy before, and he understood why. The entire room was filled with decorations everywhere, all of them saying things like 'Happy Birthday,' and 'He's a man now!'. In the back of the room stood a tall mountain of presents and though Harry had not been informed of it, all of Ron's family was there besides Percy of course.

"Wow!" Ron screamed looking at all of it. He tried to take it all in at once, but twirling was not one of his strong points and he nearly collided with the floor before Draco caught him. "This is brilliant!" He said loudly, not that anyone was really paying him any mind. They were all too busy laughing at him.

"No falling," Draco said letting him go and so the party started full force. There was so much cheering and laughing, everyone fully enjoying themselves. Harry grabbed Tom's hands then and forced him to start dancing.

"You seem in a better mood than when I left you," Tom grinned.

"Much," Harry agreed lying his head down on Tom's shoulder. They remained embraced and swaying gently for almost an hour before it was time to cut the cake and for Ron to open his gifts. Even though the music stopped, Tom and Harry didn't separate. Instead both of them walked over to the crowd of people, Mrs. Weasley cutting the cake for everyone.

"I'm just so proud of you," Mrs. Weasley sniffed handing Ron the first piece of cake. "My youngest boy finally all grown up…I'm just so…." She dropped the knife and threw her arms around Ron hugging him tightly and crying loudly. Ron looked mortified; Mr. Weasley just gave him a smile and started cutting the cake himself.

"Who wants chocolate?" Mr. Weasley asked. By the time, everyone had gotten a piece of cake Ron had been hugged, kissed, and had his hair tasseled so much he might as well have been fighting the death eaters beside Harry a few months back.

Having gotten their cake Harry and Tom took a seat on the floor towards the back of the room.

"You have chocolate," Harry snickered cuddling up closer to his boyfriend. "I take it you liked my ice cream from fourth year more than you let on."

"It was that or some weird meat stuff."

"That was just an inch of the cake, it was for the werewolves," Harry laughed. He held up his own piece and grinned. "I got banana."

"What kind of cake did they make him?" the heir growled. Wondering if the heir still had any traits from his fourth year, he held a piece of his cake up to the Slytherin's mouth. "Is it good?"

"It is," Harry smiled at him. Tom didn't seem to need much convincing, he took a bite of it, chewed, swallowed and went silent. "Want to trade?" Harry asked with a laugh. He could see the heir eyeing his cake. With a nod from his boyfriend, Harry handed his plate over taking the chocolate one. "I'm easily pleased," he said happy with the chocolate.

"Yeah I know," Tom, grinned at him. "What'd you get Ron anyway?"

"Keeper gloves," Harry said absently. The gift opening had started, but they hadn't budged from where they were. It wasn't that Harry didn't want to see his friend enjoying himself with his gifts; he just really didn't feel like moving away from his boyfriend. They had been avoiding each other so much the past few weeks they needed to make up for lost time. Of course, things didn't quite work out as they had planned. While Harry usually had a good amount of self-control he found himself ignoring the party more and more opting to snog his boyfriend, or at least he did until the music actually started again. Harry found himself looking up then as everyone started dancing around the room cheerfully.

"This is new," Tom, said raising an eyebrow at the festivities.

"I think its Irish honestly," Hermione, said coming up to them. It seemed like the dance was for family members only. "It looks interesting though…"

"Wish you'd have started dating Ron instead of Krum?" Harry asked getting dark glares from Hermione and Draco who'd just walked up. "What are you doing here Draco?"

"Weasley shoved me out," he sighed sitting down beside Harry and the heir. "As long as his family is around I don't mean a thing." Draco watched the dancing go on, from the looks of it; it was some kind of coming of age dance, because Ron was in the middle of it looking quite proud of himself. Harry on the other hand felt horrible for Draco, he honestly thought now that Ron was of age he'd stand up for his rights and tell his family about Draco. From the looks of it though the Gryffindor no longer even acted like Draco existed. "This is pathetic."

"Kind of," Tom said offering Draco his hand. "You don't mind do you Harry?"

"No, of course not," Harry grinned. "We can switch back and forth can't we?" He stood up then taking Hermione's hand in his own and spun her. It wasn't what the four had expected, but that was all right, they were having their own party together. When the song changed Harry half-expected Ron to come and join them, but once again he stayed close to his family.

"You're a great dancer Harry…you've been practicing more," Hermione smiled at him.

"Yeah…fourth year was a bit embarrassing," he laughed. "Ready to switch Aderes?"

"Yeah." Harry had thought by switch that meant Draco would be taking Hermione and that Harry would get to dance with Tom. Instead, Harry found himself dancing with Draco. It was odd for a moment, mostly due to the fact that Tom had already attacked Draco for coming to visit him in the infirmary some time ago, but in a way, they had permission. It was fun Harry had to admit and he found himself doing some odd dances made by the pure blood wizarding world according to Draco. They were different, but that just made him try to learn them that much quicker. He knew he'd have to know them for later when he danced with Tom, he was sure the heir knew them.

"Enjoying yourself Potter?" Draco asked dipping Harry close to the floor.

"Yes, thanks for showing me these moves." He blushed when Draco moved his face inches from his.

"No problem," he whispered to him. "Want to try another game?"

"After what happened last time?" Harry glared at him. "What are you going to do?"

"Piss off my boyfriend," he said with an evil smirk. He lower his head then just enough to make it look like he was kissing Harry, his hair blocking out the view so no one could tell his face was just to the side of Harry's own.

'I swear he's not kissing me,' Harry mentally screamed to his boyfriend. 'He's just trying to get at Ron, I swear his-'

'Quiet down, I can see through your eyes, I see his head,' the heir told him sounding thoroughly amused.

'…Why didn't you do that when I was in the infirmary?'

'….shut up.'

There were a few gasps then and Draco pulled Harry back to his feet so they were staring at each other in the eyes.

"If I thought I could get away with it, I'd go for your neck," Draco whispered then grinned.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Harry hissed at him.

"No, of course not," Draco said placing his hand behind Harry's head. "I just feel…strangely drawn to you today."

"Wh, what?" Harry asked trying to take a step back.

"Excuse me. May I help you find a new boyfriend?" Tom asked smiling brightly at Draco; he was now standing in front of Harry blocking the Slytherin's view.

"Might be that I would," Draco agreed when Ron came stomping over to them.

"What's going on over here?" He demanded his face red. Whether that was from anger or the dance Harry wasn't sure, but they were probably going to find out soon. "My best friend and…my….other friend," he said choosing his words carefully.

"That's right Weasley, your friend," Draco sneered putting emphasis on the word friend. "I knew getting too close to a mud-blood lover wasn't worth my time, I should just go back to my father."

"Oh come on," Tom said looking at Draco in disgust. "Your father? Do you realize the age difference?" Harry had to bite his tongue from laughing. "Why not someone in the Slytherin ho…why don't we go find a nice Hufflepuff?" He asked.

"Yes, Hufflepuffs are loyal aren't they?" Draco said turning to Tom. "I'm sure one of them is anyway."

"Or how about Fleur's sister?" Tom asked with an evil grin. "She was something to look at."

"Yeah Gabrielle is pretty nice looking," Draco agreed. Harry knew now without a doubt that these two had put a plot together to get at Ron and even so, Harry was finding himself jealous about the two of them talking about the veela's sister.

"I don't believe I'm hearing any of this!" Ron screamed. A few of the people around him started looking at them. "You're all a bunch of…get out! This is my party!"

"That we put together for you," Tom reminded him. "Oh, but wait. We aren't important enough are we?"

"I never once said that, but I guess I'm not either, because you're all over here snogging my boyfriend!" He screamed. This of course got everyone's in the room attention. "Got your prize," Tom said patting Draco on the shoulder. "Great job acting everyone." He grabbed Harry and Hermione by the arms moving both of them out of harm's way, that being Draco and Ron's paths.

"Hey, how can we use that as blackmail if everyone knows?" George whined stopping near Ron. "I thought you weren't going to tell anyone!"

"I think that means we can't use it as blackmail George," Fred grinned. "Wouldn't worry though, got a lot of other stuff we can use."

"True. I guess there's no harm done then. Proceed," George said with a shrug.

"No harm!" Mrs. Weasley screeched. "That boy…he's been staying at our house! RONALD WEASLEY!" She screamed turning on her son. Ron instantly went pale.

'I didn't think she'd get this mad,' Harry said suddenly feeling bad for his friend. While he hadn't been part of the Slytherin's plan, he really hadn't expected Mrs. Weasley to flip out over her son's sexual preference. She had enough sons to carry on the Weasley name after all. Now if Ginny had announced she didn't quite like men, Harry could see the horror from Mrs. Weasley's point of view. That wasn't the case though and he couldn't quite put it together. He quickly wondered if his own mother would have reacted the same way.

'Neither did I honestly.'

"Ronald, you should probably run," Mr. Weasley said going to grab his wife, of course his hand went through her since she was a ghost. She rushed at Ron who screamed and ran off in the other direction as quickly as he could.

"We have to help him," Harry said with a sigh.

"I'll handle this," Tom said walking in front of Draco where Mrs. Weasley had stopped and started screaming at. He shoved Draco out of the way and fixed Mrs. Weasley with a dark glare. "The only reason you're standing here is because I felt bad for your kids. They were so depressed and you wanted my help so you could come back and raise them," he growled at her. "And so one of your kids decides to go off with a guy, get off yourself. It doesn't matter who he's with, at least didn't become a death eater!" The room of course went completely silent at this. "If you don't back off I'll have to release your spirit from this realm,' he said finally, "Is that what you want?"

"No!" Mr. Weasley said coming towards Tom. "You can't…"

"You. Going to talk some sense into your wife? Draco and Ron have been dating since fifth year. Either you're going to accept it or you're going away," the heir said simply. "The world does not die, because your children don't follow the paths you paved for them in your head. Draco, if things fall through I'll take responsibility. You can stay with me if they can't handle reality." He took Draco's hand then and started towards Harry. "I think we've over stayed our welcome with the Weasley family."

"Hey, we didn't do anything!" The twins called out together.

"Sure, we used it as blackmail," George started.

"But, we always do that," Fred finished.

"I'm not really mad at you two," Tom snickered. "You're in your own reality." He led the other two out of the room silently. When they were outside of the room of requirements, he turned to Draco letting Harry's hand go. "Sorry. Didn't think it'd get that out of hand."

"No, a year and a half is long enough. If Weasley can't tell his family, we're together than it's over. I can't stand it any longer. I told my mother and she wasn't happy, but three lessons later with Snape and she was hugging him! She was just glad he was a pure blood," Draco muttered.

"You have veela blood in you…and she's worried about who you date," Tom said slightly shocked.

"At least a pure blood…would have probably already stabbed me in the back." He let out a sigh and turned towards the direction of the common room. "I'm not even sure if I should head back to the Gryffindor tower."

"Whatever you decide is up to you," Tom said frowning. "But if you go back there…one of the Slytherins are going to try and turn you in to Voldemort." Draco said a curse, but didn't move.

"Guess I get to die alone?" He asked with a laugh.

"No, just among friends," Harry said. "Besides, you never know, Ron might come around," he said uneasily. "I mean now that everyone knows about Draco why not? There's no reason to keep it a secret."

"That's true." They all turned at that, it seemed Ron had been hiding behind the corner of where they were talking. "Draco…I'm sorry. I mean you saw how my mum acted." He walked over to Draco then hugging onto him tightly. "I wasn't thinking. I just saw her react and kind of lost it."

"Neither did I," Draco said returning the embrace. "I really didn't think your family would react that way."

"Fred and George are for it," Tom said pleasantly getting glares from both Ron and Draco. "Forget it," he said shaking his head. "Harry, let's go back to the common room." They said their goodbyes to their two friends and started down the hall. "It would be nice if we could make up that quickly when we fight."

"I've been trying to make it a habit to keep them short," Harry agreed. They made it back to the common room, Tom leading him back up into the dorm. "What are we doing now?" Harry asked.

"Writing a letter," Tom said taking a piece of parchment out of Harry's trunk. He also helped himself to a quill and ink. "Want to help me write it?"

"Who are we writing too?" Harry asked getting onto the bed beside his boyfriend.

"Sirius and Lupin," Tom said stretching out on the bed. "I want to make sure they have no problems letting Draco move in if it should come to that."

"Why would they have any problems? There are enough rooms to hold the whole Gryffindor tower."

"Just being cautious," Tom explained. So the two went to work on putting together a letter that would allow Draco to move in should the worst happen. "Should I ask them to save a room for Ron too?" He asked looking up at Harry.

"After that explosion you might want too." Harry closed his eyes at that and tried not to really think about it. While he had not been in on 'the game' as the others called it, ahead of time, he had ended up playing a huge part in it and felt bad. "Back up plans for our messed up group are always nice."

"Agreed," Tom, said writing down some more sentences. When the letter was finished, Harry reading over it to make sure his boyfriend hadn't added anything weird to piss his beloved guardians off he handed it back to him. "Alright, let's go deliver this." They removed themselves from the bed, put the objects they'd been using for writing the letter away and started for the owlery. "Think they'll let him stay?" Tom asked when they were half way there.

"I don't see why not. They let you stay and you're worse than Draco," Harry pointed out. The heir muttered something, but Harry didn't quite catch it. "Even if they don't, the Dursleys didn't want him at their house either," Harry grinned. "Didn't quite work out that way."

"No, I guess it didn't," Tom agreed wrapping an arm around Harry's waist. "Whose owl are we using anyway?"

"Does it really matter?" Harry asked staring at his boyfriend. "I mean they can both make it there without much of an issue."

"True." In the end, they had to use Hedwig, because Basilisk refused to listen to Tom in any way shape or form. When the heir tried to demand the bird down from the highest rafter the owl attempted to puke on him, Tom managing to side step at the last second. The two of course got into a huge fight then. Harry ignored them walking over to Hedwig and tied the letter to her leg. He told her to take it to Sirius, gave his bird a kiss and the owl took off hooting happily.

The ordeal that should have been a simple task over, Harry grabbed his boyfriend by the arm and started dragging him out of the owlery, Basilisk screeching no doubt curses at the heir as they left.

"Why can't you get along with your owl?" Harry asked staring at his boyfriend. "I bought you Basilisk so you could send mail and have a friend, not so you would have someone else to fight with."

"I can't help that bird is evil." That made Harry stare.

"You're one to talk," he said flatly.

"Well, he's more evil than I am," Tom said defensively.

"Somehow I doubt that," Harry sighed. "Just don't kill him," the Gryffindor warned. Why he should even be forced to utter these words was beyond him, because he really thought those days were over. If he'd just fallen for a normal person they wouldn't end up having conversations like this, it really could get to a person.

"I talked to Dumbledore last night, after you went to sleep," Tom said after a moment of silence. "We have a meeting with him this Monday…it has to do with the Horcruxes we talked about a few meetings back."

"You know, I still don't quite understand those," Harry said thoughtfully. "I mean, I understand the principals of it and I get why Voldemort would be stupid enough to do it, but why even bother? If Dumbledore helped make the philosophers stone, why not just take that?"

"It wasn't there at the time," Tom reasoned. "Then again…he still hadn't attacked your family when the stone was created…I'm actually kind of surprised he didn't." For the first time Harry could ever remember his boyfriend looked a bit confused and yet curious. "I never gave that stone any thought either."

"What a fool," Harry laughed. "He could have just used that, instead he gave up his good looks and sanity to slice his soul in half." He grinned at the heir then kissing him.

"Aren't I lucky?" Tom asked a smirk on his face. "I could have lost you to him."

"Never," Harry said instantly. "He'd have been too old looking for my tastes."

"Only looked?" Tom asked his eyebrow raised.

"If I recall you're quite older than me too."

"Point taken," the heir hissed leaning over Harry and biting down on his neck. The Gryffindor let out a small gasp closing his eyes and allowed the heir to do as he pleased. The feeling was far too good for him to protest against it. "This is a lot more fun without your annoying family members out to break us apart," Tom, said moving some of Harry's hair back. The heir wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and lowered him to the floor.

(X)

Somehow, they had managed to completely have at it in the hall to the owlery without being caught. Harry wasn't sure how many times he thanked whoever was watching over him, but he did a few more times before they made it back to the common room. When they entered, their three friends were all staring at them, no doubt having wondered where they had been, not that Harry was about to tell them. He had enough sense left to not let them in on the fact that he and his boyfriend could have been caught and worst yet, by younger students.

'Never again,' Harry warned his boyfriend his face still a deep crimson. 'I don't care if we do it, but not in an open spaced hallway. What if Peeves had found us?'

'Just worried about the ghost?' Tom asked amused. Harry shot a burst of anger through their bond and sulked off to the nearest chair, Tom of course following.

"Where have you two been?" Hermione asked quietly. "It's been a nightmare up here."

"What's going on?" Harry asked quickly, but the nightmare was pretty obvious. While Draco and Ron were sitting together, they didn't seem to be giving each other a second look. Draco was reading some kind of magazine, Ron was trying to do some homework, but neither looked too thrilled to be sitting near one another. "Great," Harry sighed. "Why couldn't we have gotten into the fight?"

"HEY!" Tom snapped getting all three of their friend's attention. "We fight enough!"

"Exactly, we make up fast...kind of," Harry said climbing off the chair. "Draco, Ron, are you guys going to forgive each other or do Aderes and I have to get involved?"

"We're not fighting," Ron said, but the death glare he was getting from Draco said otherwise.

"Your mom settle down then?" Harry asked coolly. Ron's face turned red. "Didn't think so."

"I deal with enough bickering with Harry, you two are not allowed to fight," Aderes whined. "I mean sure, you guys should get a turn to fight every once in a while, but Harry and I don't know how to fix this. Harry and I just fight and eventually we get attention deprived. You two are fighting and still clinging to each other…should we separate them?" He asked turning to Harry.

Harry wasn't sure what they should do, they weren't exactly at each other's throats, but they definitely were not on good terms.

"We might need to, that would cause the separation anxiety."

"I don't need you two to split me from him," Draco growled removing himself from the chair. "See, I can move myself." Before Harry and Tom could say anything to that he sat back down beside Ron.

"Okay…so if we just ignore you two, you're going to figure out a solution?" Tom asked eyeing them. The couple shrugged. "Good enough answer for me," he muttered taking Harry by the hand. "Hermione, would you like to join us in the dorm to study?"

"I better not, they might kill each other," she sighed. "If they get annoying though I'll be sure to come up."

"Alright." He dragged Harry up to the dorm then, the Gryffindor half expecting to be thrown back on the bed with the mood his boyfriend had been in earlier. Instead, Tom really did start pulling his schoolbooks out of Harry's trunk. "Transfiguration?" He asked without looking at Harry. "I know you were having some trouble turning the books into a sheep."

"Well excuse me if that's not easy," Harry snickered. "We'll study that."

(TBC)

Another finished chapter.


	43. Family

Another day, another chapter.

Warnings: It's shonen ai, get over it.

Notes: **(X)** pov change and or time jump. (Flash) (flash) is just a quick flash back that a character is having.

Chapter, 43: Family

Annoying was the first and foremost thing that popped into the Gryffindor's head. Turning books into sheep was just not to be as far as he was concerned. No, books were meant to remain motionless unless picked up and made of paper, not turned into baaing four legged creatures that could be used to make shirts. Scowling he picked his wand up from the ground and shot another spell at the pile of books the heir had set up for him. He shouted the incarnation the light shooting out from his wand only to knock the stack of books onto the floor.

"Well…they're furry," Tom said looking at them curiously. "But they aren't sheep."

"No kidding," Harry muttered glaring at the now fur covered books. He kicked one of the nearest ones and slid onto the floor staring at them that much more annoyed. Why was it so hard to transfigure this stack of books? It wasn't like he hadn't done it before and he was usually pretty decent with transfiguration, but not when it came to this. "What am I doing wrong? I'm saying the spell right aren't I?"

"You are," Tom assured him looking over the books. He picked one up and started examining it. When he was finished, he placed it down on the floor looking up at his boyfriend. "I don't think you're saying it with enough meaning, nor are you visualizing the sheep enough."

"Well excuse me if seeing a bunch of random books turn into a sheep is beyond my imagination," Harry sighed. What he really wanted to do was get the stupid lesson over and go find some dinner. Instead, he'd found himself working over an hour on it, the heir telling him he wasn't budging from this location until he at least got one of the books to baa at him. "I'm going to starve at this point!" He screamed.

"Now, now. The human body can keep you alive for almost a week without food," the heir smirked. "Now try again." He restacked the books for the Gryffindor and moved away from them. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Harry growled. He got off the floor aiming with his wand at the books. "Well, they already have fur, maybe that will make it easier," he said quietly.

"Oh right." Tom waved his wand at the books taking them back to their original form. "Okay, now do it."

"I hate you," Harry growled. He shot the spell at the books again only this time they went up in flames instead of transforming at all. The heir slowly turned to the Gryffindor looking at him questioningly. When Harry said nothing he used his wand to get rid of the fire and walked over to him.

"Maybe we should take a break," he offered heading for the dorm door.

"You think?" Harry asked following after him. He had needed a break an hour ago after he'd failed the first ten times, not after the first fifty. "You get annoyed with apparating, I get annoyed with transfiguration."

"Hey, apparating is a lot harder than Transfiguration," Tom warned him eyes narrowed. Harry had of course hit his one weak spot at the moment, but that was the Slytherin's problem as far as Harry was concerned. Now that he wasn't the only one failing at something, the heir had been forced to come with terms that they were indeed equals.

"Not really. I swore I saw one of the Ravenclaw move a few inches during our last practice."

"I'm warning you," Tom hissed at him as they moved down the staircase into the common room. When they arrived, Draco and Ron were still glaring at each other in the same chair they'd left them in, Hermione now on a different book.

"Well, at least all three of them are still alive," Harry, said looking at them. He still felt bad for what had happened at Ron's birthday party and by the looks of it, it didn't seem like the couple had completely made up yet. "Think they'll still share the same bed?"

"They better, we don't have any extras up there and if they think for a moment we're exchanging partners," The heir went on throwing curses then. Harry honestly didn't know what his boyfriend's problem was, all they had to do was send Draco down to Snape's office, and he could stay with his mother.

"Right," Harry said trying not to hear the curses his boyfriend had just screamed. He left the heir standing at the bottom of the stairs then walking over to Hermione and sat beside her. "No luck?"

"Hardly," she said with a sigh just looking at Draco and Ron long enough to make sure they were still both breathing. "I don't know what to do."

"Maybe if we have a talk with Mrs. Weasley? I bet if she approves of the relationship than Ron will stop being such a prat." It was the only idea Harry had and since his boyfriend was going on somewhat of a total rampage, even if it was only in the heir's head, Harry doubted they'd be getting much help from him at the moment.

"Do you think she's still here at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked sounding somewhat unsure. Harry didn't know either.

"Only one way to find out right? Find Dumbledore and…my map," Harry said suddenly looking depressed.

"That's right; your map could find her easily!" Hermione said happily. "Let's go get it!"

"No, Sirius and Lupin still have it," Harry groaned. "With everything that was going on they must have forgotten to give it back." He stood up then rubbing his temples. "Guess we've no choice then. We'll have to go ask Dumbledore."

"Or one of the other teachers?" Hermione asked hopefully. It seemed that she didn't want to bother the headmaster any more than Harry did, but if that was their only choice…

"We'll ask along the way," he assured her.

"What about him?" she asked then motioning to Tom with her hand. He was in the corner near the window muttering something about unfair fights and hexes.

"Leave him," Harry said at once. He didn't need to go out in search of teachers or Dumbledore just to get them all into fights. He needed solutions to peace after all, not a war on his hands. They left the common room then, Tom not seeming any the wiser when they stepped out of the portrait hole and stated for Dumbledore's office. "Feels weird, ever since the school year has started I'm usually headed there with Tom," Harry said.

"Yeah, I have to admit this has been the only year I haven't found myself in his office every other week," Hermione said smiling at him. "Feels nice."

"Consider yourself lucky. I've seen it almost every other day between meetings with him and all the stunts Aderes and Draco keep pulling. I might as well move my bed in there honestly."

"I don't think Aderes would like that."

"Only because it'd limit our snogging time," Harry said sounding annoyed. That of course was the truth. If he could move into the headmaster's office, he would without a second thought. It would be so much easier to watch the heir and make sure he didn't do anything stupid if the headmaster was there helping him keep an eye out. Despite the thought, Harry already knew that, that desire was not going to happen. Dumbledore probably didn't want Tom in his office every night any more than Tom wanted to be there every night. Letting out a sigh he kept moving on.

"Do you think Dumbledore should have a talk with her?" Hermione asked when they were at the bottom of the stairs leading to the headmaster's office. They had not run into a single professor on their way there, something Harry found very odd.

"Might have. He's usually good at keeping things running smoothly. Guess we can only hope." He gave Hermione a small smile before turning to the staircase and saying the password. The staircase of course opened and started moving around the twisted hall, Harry and Hermione going up them as they did. When they were in front of the headmaster's door, he took a breath and knocked. "Hope Aderes doesn't find out we came here without him. He'll be more than mad," Harry said nervously.

"Maybe we should have brought him?" Hermione asked.

"And risked him sending Mrs. Weasley back to the world of the dead? I don't think so, he's probably pissed death off enough already," Harry muttered.

"Come in," came the usual reply though Harry was sure he could detect some tiredness from the tone. The two Gryffindors came in anyway and shut the door after they were in the office. To Harry's complete surprise Sirius was standing next to Dumbledore's desk, Lupin nowhere to be seen.

"Is everything alright?" Harry asked nearly running over to Dumbledore's desk. "Remus is alright, isn't he?" He'd never actually seen his godfathers, which Remus and him had decided was the easiest for Harry to refer to Lupin as in terms of family relationships, separated from each other, unless Sirius had purposely ditched him for some reason or another.

"Remus is fine," Sirius, said looking quite pleased at Harry's reaction. "I was just talking to Dumbledore about your letter."

"You got it already?" Harry asked surprised.

"It hit me while I was talking to Professor Dumbledore," Sirius grinned. "Smart bird."

"Well at least she didn't have far to travel," Harry laughed. Hermione didn't seem to know where she fit in at this point and took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. "What are you doing here then?"

"Well, there was a threat that the school was going to be burned down, complete nonsense of course," Sirius said when Hermione looked at him. "We just wanted to do a quick look around after the Forbidden Forest and all. Then Hedwig came and we realized there were other problems to be dealt with."

"Sorry," Harry said taking a seat in the other chair next to Hermione. "We didn't think things through…or honestly I wasn't even informed of what was going on until after it happened. It was Aderes' and Draco's plan," Harry sighed. "Mrs. Weasley flipped out-"

"You know Harry…as much as I suspected it was my son…I do have to point out the next time you invite a full family to my castle even if it was for Mr. Weasley's birthday…please ask first," Dumbledore cut in a smile on his face. "Or at the least, invite me down for some cake."

"We were worried Aderes would flip out if you showed up for Ron's birthday, but you're right. We should have asked you," Hermione said worriedly. Harry was shocked that she had actually forgotten to ask Dumbledore before even thinking of the party.

"Hermione, you and Draco used the kitchens to cook the cake didn't you? I had thought you had asked about the people who were invited then."

"You slipped into my kitchen?" Dumbledore asked raising an eyebrow causing Hermione's face to turn a brighter shade of red.

"Hermione…we're having an awful effect on you," Harry said looking from her to the headmaster. "I'm really sorry professor. I guess I'll stop thinking and just start questioning everything from now on."

"It's quite alright Harry. Truly, there was no harm done, besides to Mr. Weasley's family life. Even so, I would appreciate to be informed beforehand. Now we must decide what we are going to do with Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley's situation."

"Well they're fighting, but they aren't," Harry said uneasily. "They aren't talking, but they're still sitting next to each other and well…it's odd," Harry admitted. "When Tom and I fight, that's it. We scream at each other and have nothing to do with each other for a day or so; these two are sticking closer than ever."

"I believe that would be their solution since they see what happens when couples fight and separate," Dumbledore smiled.

"But sometimes you just need that time apart," Harry said frowning. "I know it isn't always the greatest thing in the world, but I've cooled off a lot during our separated times."

"And if I'm right, Tom has gone on complete rampages during those times you spent cooling off?"

"Right," Harry sighed. "What do we do though?"

"As far as having them make up, that's up to them," Sirius said leaning on the desk. "You can't force a couple to make up, just because you want them to, they have to want it."

"Well yeah, but if they're not even willing to separate when they're fighting, doesn't that mean they want to make up?" Harry asked. It seemed like a logical conclusion to him, but both Sirius and the headmaster were shaking their heads.

"Afraid not," Sirius said dropping his hand onto Harry's head. "Once Remus and I got into a fight. I refused to budge from his side for weeks; it actually made the fight worse. After James peeled me off of him and forced us to spend some time apart did either of us realize we weren't getting anywhere fighting."

"So we should separate them," Harry said looking at the two adults in the room.

"But Harry, what if that just makes things worse? If Draco goes to stay with his mother then she might convince him to leave Ron and find someone else."

"So what do you purpose we do?" Harry demanded.

"You have to let them figure it out," Sirius said with a small shrug. "There's no way around that. This is their first fight right? It's going to take them some time before they realize how to deal with it. Just support both of them."

"Right," Harry muttered wishing for a better response. He just wanted some peace, something they usually didn't get thanks to his boyfriend and himself, but now they had to deal with Draco and Ron's bickering too. "Do me a favor Hermione; don't ever fight with Krum please."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," she said honestly. "We're pretty open with each other and neither of us get jealous let you guys do. Both our families are okay with our relationship, we-"

"I get it; you have a healthy, normal relationship. Lucky you," he growled looking away from her. To say he was jealous at the moment was an understatement.

"About them staying at my house though," Sirius said when the two Gryffindor had stopped talking. "I don't know how it will work out, but I don't mind. I really think even if they make up though, Ron will probably go back to the Burrow."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "And we'll probably have Draco, because I don't see Mrs. Weasley letting Draco back into her house…Why is she so upset about something so normal?" Harry finally asked. "First she gets irked at Tom and I, and then at Sirius for being a dad to me. She flips out over Draco and Ron, I swear her main goal in life right now is to ruin our lives," Harry said angrily. The others in the room were looking at him oddly, but Harry had wanted to say these things for a long time now. The stronger his relationships got with his friends and godfathers it seemed, the more annoyed and revenge seeking Mrs. Weasley got.

"Harry, I'm honored that you see me as a father, but I don't think Molly is trying to sabotage anything, she just doesn't understand," Sirius said slowly. "It's just too much too fast."

"Well how does she think we feel?" Harry snapped. "My family gets killed; I nearly lost both you and Tom. She wouldn't even let you visit me until after Dumbledore brought you! It's not right-"

"Harry, Dumbledore wouldn't let Tom or I see you," Sirius said firmly. "It was not Molly's decision. He knew how worked up we get, if the two of us were to see you we'd end up getting hurt and our bodies were in no shape for that. That and we were having a very large fight over who got to see you first."

"I spent my whole summer depressed and nearly losing my mind trying to come up with the perfect plan to get you and Tom back!" Harry screamed knocking his chair over as he got to his feet. "I could have used you both! And even after that…she refused to let you visit me…when Dumbledore wasn't there or Tom was asleep she sent you away…"

"You heard that huh?" Sirius asked smiling slightly. "Yeah, she did."

"I'm not her son," Harry said calmly down slightly. "Why can't she just accept us? Doesn't she understand how much she's making me hate her?" These seemed to be the last words anyone had expected to hear Harry say, because Sirius looked alarmed, Hermione like she was going to cry, and Dumbledore seemed slightly on edge.

"You don't hate her," Sirius said a minute or so after he'd gathered himself. "Harry, she died and all she has left is you and her family. She's possessive, but most of the time she's fair. She just doesn't want to see you hurt."

"Well she's doing a great job isn't she?" Harry demanded looking away.

"There was a reason we decided you should stay with Sirius and Remus instead of going to the Burrow for your Christmas holiday," Dumbledore said slowly then getting everyone's attention. "Harry, I do not wish for you to hate Molly, none of us do. She has done a great deal for you has she not?"

"Yeah, she has," Harry, agreed without thought. Before Sirius had shown up, she was like a family member to him, a mother in a sort. "And I'm grateful for that, but I have a family now, my own family and she has her own. I'm not mad at her for trying to take care of me, I'm mad at her for trying to cut everyone off from everyone, but her," he said closing his eyes. "Me from Sirius and Tom, Ron from Draco. I bet if she had it her way she'd lock me in a closet."

"Harry, you know that's not true!" Hermione shouted at him. She looked like she was ready to cry.

"Do you think I like saying things like this?" Harry asked her keeping his temper in check. "When I first arrived at number twelve and Sirius and I were talking, she got mad. Said he didn't have the right to allow me to listen in on things or stay up late, but he could sign my hogsmeade form. That form was the only thing she seemed to think he was good for. They fought constantly; you have no idea how much that got on my nerves. You have your parents Hermione, Sirius is all I have."

"I know," Hermione said quietly. "But before Sirius Mrs. Weasley…"

"So she should be glad I have him," Harry said when Hermione didn't start back up. "It's the same fight I have with Tom and Sirius, they should be glad I have both of them. Tom has a father; I didn't until Sirius showed up. Sirius has a boyfriend, he should be glad I have Tom." That all being said he fell back down into the chair he'd been sitting in letting out a long breath.

"Done?" Sirius asked looking somewhat amused.

"Yeah, I think that's about it," Harry said with a nod.

"Do you feel better having said all that Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"…Yeah, I do actually," he said sounding surprised.

"Better enough to not hate Molly?" Dumbledore pressed.

"Well, maybe a little," Harry said surprised that a lot of his anger he'd had towards Mrs. Weasley had subsided now that he'd gotten everything off his chest. He felt much lighter now that Sirius and Dumbledore knew how he felt about the woman. "I guess I don't, I'm just mad," he admitted after thinking about it a bit more. "Sorry I said all that."

"Quite alright Harry," Dumbledore said standing up. "Sometimes we just need someone to vent too. I have had a talk with Molly now that we've gotten that out of the way. She is willing to give Mr. Malfoy a chance as long as they agree to not engage in sexual activity while at the Burrow."

"Re, really?" Harry asked. Shock was an understatement now and he even started to feel bad about all the things he'd said about Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, she was in shock, but it seems to have faded now that she has had some time to think. I believe if I remember correctly, she did not like Bill's fiancé either?"

"You're right," Harry admitted sheepishly. "So she panics whenever any of her children start dating…which means…"

"Yes Harry, that would be why she hates Tom," Sirius said patting the Gryffindor on the back. "And why she gives you both such a hard time. You may not want to be one of her kids, but you are."

"I feel like a real git," Harry said looking down at the floor.

"No Harry, I believe your feelings were not misplaced. You had no idea why Molly was getting so angry with everyone or why she kept lashing out in ways to try to separate you all, but the truth is, she's just scared of losing everyone. I believe in muggle terms it is called the empty nest syndrome?"

"But she has three other children who aren't even dating," Harry said shaking his head. "And we all still care about her…when she's not trying to drive us mad."

"Well maybe we'll do something for her this summer," Sirius suggested. "How about we send her a large cake or her own hand made sweater saying thanks?"

"Sounds good," Harry, said only because he didn't know what else he could possibly give Mrs. Weasley that would make things right. He was going to apologize that was for sure, but even that was going to be a weird conversation. He was not about to tell her he had hated the woman until he had found out the real reason she was making him want to kill her.

"So if that answers everyone questions, Sirius I'm glad you found nothing to indicate any signs of my castle going up in flames." He smiled at the three of them. "You may all go. Oh wait." He took a piece of candy out of his desk and handed it to Hermione. "For having to deal with family matters," he told her pleasantly.

"Thank you," she whispered taking the candy and standing up. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"Nonsense, the both of you came here with the intentions of finding some way to help your friends. Harry here just had some anger to share." He gave Harry a wink before getting to his feet. "Sirius, there was nothing else you wanted to speak of before you left was there?"

"Nope, that was everything," Sirius said happily.

"Very well then. Oh and Harry, I'll see you tomorrow night with Aderes." They all said goodbye to the headmaster and walked out of his office.

"I still feel like an idiot," Harry said closing his eyes. "I'm sorry you guys had to hear that."

"Actually Harry, I don't like hearing what you had to say about Molly, but the underlying reasons there, I liked those," Sirius said his smile extremely bright now. "I'm really glad you see me as your dad…even though there's no way I can take Jame's place, I'm trying my best."

"I know, you and Remus both are and I'm always having my best times when I'm with you guys. You two are my family and that's just how I see it."

"Yeah, I guess that means we're stuck with a son we didn't even ask for," Sirius grinned at him. "Well at least there was no childbirth involved."

"Hey," Harry said looking away. He was more than glad those two hadn't given birth to him, as much as he did love them.

"Just a joke. Listen Harry, I have to go, Remus is under cover with some werewolves and I have to go make sure some giants aren't about to go and cause some problems in Diagon. I'll see you later alright?"

"Alright, bye Sirius. Tell Remus I said hi," he said as his godfather walked off in the direction of the main entrance. "Well now that I've made a complete fool of myself," Harry said turning to regard Hermione. "I'm really sorry I flipped out like that."

"Well…I understand why you did, I just wish you hadn't," she said biting her lower lip. "I mean…we all count on Mrs. Weasley and to be so mad at her…but then you said you felt better after you yelled right?" She asked quickly. "The reason you were so made was from keeping it to yourself for so long. That's not healthy you know."

"I do now," Harry, said rolling his eyes. Of course, he knew that it wasn't healthy to keep his emotions bottled up, but at the same time, he'd been nearly traumatized into not sharing them. The last time he'd told anyone how mad he was at Mrs. Weasley about the way she was treating his godfather she'd died and even if that hadn't been his fault, it still made him think twice about saying anything.

"Good, you don't have any anger building up against me…do you?" She asked nervously.

"No Hermione," he said laughing. "You haven't exactly been going around trying to force Tom and me to break up or drive my godfather out of my life."

"You know…even if she tried she wouldn't be able to. Sirius would fight for you," she said sounding completely confident in her answer.

"I know," Harry said. He knew not only with Sirius fight for him, he'd break into the Burrow and kidnap him to take him home with him then deny it left and right to everyone even if he would be forced to take truth serum. That loyalty and love from Sirius was just one of the many things that made Harry see him as his father. "He's always there for me."

"And when he's missing, Aderes is there," Hermione laughed. Harry had no choice, but to agree.

(X)

"A Celebration!" Sirius screamed when he walked through the doors of number twelve. He received a few odd looks from a few order members, but ignored them and kept on walking until he found Remus in the study looking over a book. "We're celebrating tonight!" he said happily using his wand to accio a bottle of wine to his hand.

"What exactly are we celebrating?" Remus asked looking his boyfriend over.

"Why Harry of course," Sirius said plopping down into Remus' lap. "I have not been this happy in I don't know how long!"

"It's too early for the house cup to be announced…and Quidditch is still going," Remus started naming off the more common things that Harry and Sirius talked about. "Tom's alright, right?" the werewolf asked then sounding worried.

"Don't bring that thing up. He's perfectly alive and healthy, so don't ruin my good mood," Sirius said darkly. "No this is all one hundred percent Harry!" He bit down on the cork, ripped it out, and spit it onto the floor to get later. "Now share a drink with me."

"Not if you don't tell me why you're in such a good mood," Remus said starting to laugh. He moved his book onto the desk he was sitting next to and placed his arms around Sirius. "Well?"

"We've moved up on the scale!" Sirius grinned. "We are no longer godfathers."

"What?" Remus asked raising an eyebrow. "What are we then?"

"Just fathers!" He roared happily pouring the wine into some cups Lupin hadn't even noticed. "He flat out declared his love for us above Molly and said she needed to go drop dead if she-"

"I know you're lying," Lupin said evenly cutting Sirius off.

"Fine, fine. It seems he was getting mad that Molly kept telling me off. Said he was my son not her's." He grinned even more than taking a large gulp of the wine.

"That's wonderful Sirius," Lupin said a smile on his own face now. "See, you've been worried for nothing."

"It's hard to think I matter so much with that Slytherin heir running around," Sirius scowled. "But who cares! He declared me his father, should we adopt him?" Sirius asked suddenly. "We could get the papers and-"

"I think you're getting a bit carried away," Remus laughed. "Adoption is something you should be asking Harry about not me."

"Well I have to make sure you're okay with it!"

"Sirius, if Harry truly wished to be adopted by us how could I possibly say no?"

"Yeah, you're right," Sirius grinned. "You love him as much as I do." He kissed Remus deeply then placing the wine on the desk as it was not nearly as important as his lover was. "Should we ask him when he comes over this summer?" Sirius asked after they'd separated.

"I think that would be a good enough time from now," Remus reasoned. "If you rush him into it and he regrets it he'll never forgive us."

"This summer it is," Sirius, said going back to his werewolf's lips.

(X)

When Harry and Hermione entered the common room the last thing they had expected was to find it empty save for three people. Those three people of course being, Tom, Draco, and Ron, the couple still acting oblivious to the world around them save for their magazines.

"Alright," Harry said walking over to them. Tom heard his voice, jerked his head up and came running over.

"Where have you been?!" The heir demanded.

"With your dad," Harry said evenly almost causing Tom to fall over. He sat down on the table in front of Draco and Ron's chair. "Both of you listen."

"What? They answered at the same time, glared at each other and looked away.

"I'm only explaining this once so if you miss out it's your own fault. Mrs. Weasley has decided as long as you and Draco to go beyond snogging at her house Draco can still stay," Harry said. Both of them were now of course looking at him. "Also, if you're both still fighting. Sirius has agreed to let Draco stay with us since Ron has a home."

"Gee thanks for saying it that way Potter," Draco growled.

"I think you two should both apologize to each other, because it's the only way you're going to get over this. You won't leave each other and emotions building up are bad."

"Very bad," Hermione added smiling at Harry when he looked at her.

"So, both of you take turns listening to the other scream at you about how awful this and that is and then make up." He didn't bother to hear any answers from them instead turning on his boyfriend. "Why is the common room empty?" he asked darkly. He of course knew that if anyone was going to cause the entire room to clear out it was his boyfriend.

"I didn't do it," Tom whined grabbing Harry's arm. "I just asked Draco about a project, he screamed at me and everyone got scared of my reaction and ran."

"And what exactly was your reaction?" Harry asked holding back a twitch.

"I didn't actually get to react. I was so shocked that everyone ran out of the room I just walked back over to the window." Harry wasn't about to let his boyfriend get away with something so he went through their bond. For once, no walls came up and he was able to see that his boyfriend was in fact telling the complete truth.

"Thank you," he smiled at him kissing him deeply. "Now…I'm hungry and why isn't our food here yet?"

"That's right…Sirius and Mrs. Weasley are in charge of our food," Hermione frowned.

"So we're starving tonight," Tom said sounding annoyed. "Harry where's that house elf of yours? He can go yell at them to do something."

"Already taken care of by the looks of it," Harry grinned. Professor McGonagall was standing near the table Harry had just been using as a chair, a large selection of food on it.

"I had to take over today due to the issues that have arose," she said eyeing Harry, Draco, and Ron in turn. "If you have a problem with the food I have cooked for you, you may all feel free to starve as you put it Tom." She left the common room then without another word.

"What did you do?" Tom asked staring at Harry.

"I have no idea," he said honestly. "I didn't anger Sirius at all when I talked to him."

"No," Hermione agreed. "But I think you put him into a really good mood."

"Oh…oh I suppose I did," Harry said his face turning red. "Thanks Hermione, I didn't need to think about that," he said utterly embarrassed now. He sat down on the floor next to the table taking a sandwich. "Let's just eat then."

(TBC)

Ah well, at least I got something done, everyone enjoy the chapter!


	44. Dumbledore's Help

And so here we go. Classes are finally over and I can finally sit down and take a breath of fresh air.

Now then, something I wanted to say since I watched/listened to the Harry Potter movie six part two with Harry saying Tom's name...it sounded so natural it was amusing. It really just made me think they were having one of their small fights and Harry was going to whack him. It amused me very much.

Warnings: It's shonen ai

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 44: Dumbledore's Help

With everything going so well or in other words McGonagall's cooking actually having turned out to taste good and with Draco and Ron no longer fighting, things had turned out pleasantly. Tom was in a good mood, so fighting was actually kept to a minimum, which made Harry quite happy. Classes and homework were going smooth, the Gryffindor actually even managed to transfigure a book into a sheep, something he never thought he'd be able to manage. The worse of anything turned out to be the apparation lessons every Saturday as Tom was then thrown into a foul mood. Of course, it put most of the students into a bad mood, but by the last lesson and thus Tom's last outburst, Harry had, had enough.

He grabbed Tom by the arm dragging him down the hall doing his best to not flip out himself. The things his boyfriend did sometimes and he knew Tom knew he was wrong or at least hoped he knew, because if he didn't, they would be getting married in a jail cell. The thought made him sick and he couldn't help glancing at the rings on both their fingers.

"Where are we going?" Tom asked grumpily. This only made Harry more annoyed though. Tom had no right to be angry, he was lucky he was still in school and probably wouldn't be if not for their group of friends begging otherwise. Well, Harry had done what he could as had the others and he couldn't spend the rest of the day babysitting, he had other things planned. No, he was at his last straw and needed a break, some things were just too much for anyone to handle. He said the password just as his boyfriend seemed to realize where they were going.

"NO!"

"Yes," Harry hissed at him. "We had a deal, I can't handle your behavior at all times right now, get over it." He shoved him up the staircase, knocked once, and shoved Tom into the headmaster's office. The headmaster had stopped in mid feeding of Fwakes and stared at them. Fwakes did not seem to like the lack of attention and bit Dumbledore's finger, the headmaster didn't seem to notice. "We made sure your son wasn't arrested, your turn to deal with him," Harry said scowling. "I have Qudditch practice."

"You're ditching me for a game?"

"I'm ditching you so I don't end up in Azkaban!" Harry said putting emphasis on the "I" before he stormed out of the room slamming the door shut behind him.

(X)

"...Well then Tom. What did you do this time?" The headmaster asked pleasantly giving Fwakes his food.

"I may have attempted to use a forbidden curse," Tom started looking pass his father to the phoenix. He really did like Fwakes, it was too bad that the bird stayed with Dumbledore instead of going to him, he could really use a different bird.

"Tom..."

"This apparation stuff is hard! I can't do it and I thought maybe the ministry teacher was purposely trying to make us fail..." He said flatly. He hated the ministry, which was no secret to anyone, but since he'd gone and disposed of Umbridge there was always the off chance that some ministry official was making sure Hogwart students wouldn't learn something as important as how to apparate.

"You tried to cast a forbidden curse on Professor Twycross?"

"Harry shoved me to the floor at the last minute and my spell missed." He was more depressed at it missing than at Harry getting mad. It was only the cruciatus curse. It wasn't like the thing would have killed the instructor.

"Be glad that he did, I would not have gotten you out," Dumbledore warned him narrowing his eyes. "I understand being frustrated, but that was uncalled for."

"Fine, leave me to-"

"If you were having so many problems why did you not come to me for help?"

"What can you possibly do?"

"I can help you practice as well as give you pointers. You know that I am always here for you," The headmaster said with a small smile.

"Don't give me that, you're not always here and kids shouldn't have to make appointments to see their parents!" Tom growled.

"Be glad you get to see Minevera and myself as much as you do. Most students only see their parents during the school holidays. Your problem is all the home schooling you got. Shall we go back to that?"

"NO!" Tom said utterly horrified now. If he had to be trapped again in Dumbledore's house only seeing the old man and McGonagall, he'd go nuts. Worse, he'd never get to see Harry again, he couldn't handle that. He wouldn't handle that.

"Then stop complaining and if you need help, ask me. You know I am always willing."

Tom snorted at that, like Dumbledore had always been there to help him, not nearly as much as he'd been there for Harry.

_I don't need to start thinking like this again_, he told himself sternly. It was that line of thinking that had gotten Harry and he almost killed their fourth year.

"Fine," he forced himself to calm down and agreed to apologize to Harry later, not just for his actions, but also for his thoughts, and nodded at Dumbledore. "Please help me learn to apperate so I can help protect Harry better."

"Tom, it is for that very reason you are failing," Dumbledore said simply. "You are lying to yourself."

"Huh?" The heir asked slightly surprised. Why would he lie to himself?

"You don't excel in school for Harry, you do it for yourself. You have always tried to be the best at Hogwarts long before Harry was even born. You need to realize that and accept it, you are so worried about not being the first one to accomplish this it is breaking your focus and thus you are failing." It was Tom's turn to stare and blink. When Dumbledore put it that way the reason he was unable to apperate was so obvious. He was too focused on others than on actually doing the spell, especially on Hermione who could possibly appearate at any second before him. "Now that you seem to understand," the headmaster said getting up from his desk. "Shall we go and practice?" Tom nodded quickly, if anyone could teach anyone to apperate it would be his stepfather. "Wonderful. Oh and before the thought comes into your mind and you start to panic, Harry does Quidditch for himself. You strive to be the best at school, Harry at his favorite game. There's nothing at all wrong with that." Tom nodded again and the headmaster motioned to the door for Tom to follow. "I believe we only need to make it outside the gate, Hogsmeade should be fine."

Tom paled at that not believing his own stupidity once again. Instead of tracking through miles of mud and trees to find a location to apperate and all he had to do was go out the front gate and practice.

"I'm glad Harry shoved me in here," he muttered.

"Ah, when all else fails an elder's advice may be best," he said winking at Tom.

(X)

For once Qudditch practice had gone well, no, not just well, splendid. It had to be that Tom was not screaming random curses from the seats at Harry and his other teammates. Now that Harry knew there was some kind of reason behind the heir's anger besides school work, he wasn't as mad about the screams as before, but enough to leave Tom with Dumbledore so they could get a decent practice in as much as possible.

"How'd you manage to get rid of Aderes?" Ron asked taking his Quidditch equipment off. The words made Harry smile.

"Left him with Dumbledore. I can't sit around all day watching his every move, especially when he's acting like such a git right after lessons."

"True...what's his problem with that anyway?" The red head asked. He sat down on the bench and began to tie his shoe laces while Harry dropped his gloves beside him.

"Don't know. He told me it had something to do with fourth year, but he won't explain all of it."

"Weird," Ron said wrinkling his face. "Fourth year was a...wait you had the necklace during your fourth year?"

Harry froze then unsure of how to fix this problem. Only Dumbledore, Draco, and himself knew about Tom's arrival in the fourth year due to memory charms. How was he supposed to explain that? He knew no one would be quite happy with that information.

"Yeah...yeah I had the necklace, just didn't work as well," he lied averting his eyes from his best friend. He didn't to lie to Ron, but some things were best kept from others at least until they were fixed. Once Voldemort was dead and Tom was the only Slytherin heir left the memory charm on the wizarding community could be dropped. "In fact, I think he was sleeping most of the time."

"Could have really used his help during that year though. All those trials and stuff," Ron muttered. Harry nodded in agreement. The truth was he had no idea just how much help he'd received from Tom during his fourth year. Tom wouldn't explain anything and despite the memories' being Harry's own, Dumbledore treated them as if they were Tom's.

The Gryffindor had of course gone out of his way to try and pry into his boyfriend's brain for information, but that had ended up in complete failure too. Harry was not nearly as good as Tom at reading people's mind. His end result had been nothing and Tom looking at him curiously wondering why his face had turned such a dark shade of red from trying so hard.

"Yeah, glad I can do some things on my own though," he said wishing that were true. Even if it was only a single event, even the one Cedric had helped him with, that'd be just fine with him. If he had help from Tom for every single event that just proved how dependent and worthless he really was.

"Hey, even if he helped out with the fourth year, I didn't see him helping us against a memory of...you know in our second year. We could have REALLY used the help then," Ron said standing up. "And the first year? You were actually standing up against him...Didn't see any Aderes there."

"You're right, I have done things," he said grinning at Ron. "I had help from you guys, but I can deal with sharing the glory with you," he said dropping an arm around Ron's shoulder. He had no idea how much his words meant to Harry. The Gryffindor no longer felt like a useless target, but someone who'd actually managed things. So what if he had, had help during his fourth year? Those were just random little events the wizarding world could throw at anyone, but his real tests had been against Voldemort himself who Harry had done wonderfully against. _Or just about_ he thought to himself rubbing the scar on his forehead.

"That doesn't hurt does it...?" Ron asked nervously drawing Harry back to reality.

"No, I was just thinking, thanks," he said truthfully. Ron and he didn't get to hang out a lot, but there was no doubt in his mind that he was Harry's best friend. No other person could understand Harry the same way he did, at least as far as friendships went.

"As long as it doesn't hurt," he said. He was suddenly out from under Harry's arm then running over to Draco who'd come out with Hermione. Harry smiled at that watching Ron grabbed onto Draco's hand and start talking about their practice. _So much for keeping our plays a secret_ he thought with a laugh. Draco had even agreed to not watch the practice even though their upcoming game was against Hufflepuff and not Slytherin.

"They're adorable aren't they?" Hermione asked standing next to Harry.

"Oh yeah, just don't let them know," he said grinning.

"Where's your latch on?" Hermione asked taking a look around.

"Left him with Dumbledore after that fight in the Great Hall. It was easier to just pick him up after Quidditch practice."

"You're using the headmaster as a babysitter?" Hermione asked slowly.

"Well Aderes is his son," Harry said giving Hermione his full attention. "Might be good for both of them to spend some quality time together."

Some more words were exchanged, but nothing serious and soon the four of them found themselves in the common room for dinner. Harry noted that his boyfriend still wasn't back and hoped the heir wasn't mad at him for leaving him with Dumbledore. Harry decided it wasn't worth the worry, there was a good chance that Tom was merely eating his dinner with Dumbledore and that he'd see him later. At least he better.

With dinner and homework out of the way Harry managed to sneak in a bath alone, which was complete heaven for him. Not having to share a thing, including his body with his boyfriend was such a relaxing experience he told himself he'd do it more often. Once he was done with that he went to his dorm, Draco and Ron already asleep. It wasn't that late really, but they were all pretty tired from the day's events even if it wasn't a full blown battle. Sometimes normal alone was enough to make a person wish for their bed.

Of course Harry was not so lucky. While he was tired he wasn't nearly tired enough to actually sleep and every time he tried his mind kept wondering to Tom and what he was doing. The bond was blocked so even if Harry wanted to ask him when he was coming to bed he wouldn't hear him.

Rolling over in bed he stared out the nearest window wondering if he should actually go track his boyfriend down. All he'd have to do it sneak over to Dumbledore's office and get it out of the headmaster. He was in the middle of this debate when the door to the dorm opened and shut, his boyfriend having finally returned.

"Well you were gone a long time. Have fun?" Harry asked quietly. He sat up in the bed as he asked so he could get a good look at his boyfriend, he didn't look angry.

"Kind of," the heir said taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He began removing his day clothes and once in his pajamas climbed onto the bed next to Harry wrapping his arms around him. "How about your day?" he asked biting down on his ear.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment glad for the attention. As much as he liked their time apart, he adored their time together.

"Yes," he answered when Tom finally removed his teeth from Harry's earlobe. "Ron and I had Quidditch practice, which went really well. Lu...I mean Remus seems pretty happy. He made a ham for dinner," Harry snickered. "I wrapped some up for you."

"I ate with Dumbledore, but we can share some tomorrow," the heir said removing his arms from Harry and lying down. The Gryffindor turned around at that and moved closer to his boyfriend. "We need to talk."

"None of our conversations ever go well when one of us start it off that way," Harry pointed out his stomach getting butterflies. Things were going so well and they both seemed to have had a good day, why ruin it now? What could have possibly gone wrong that was going to make them fight?

"Yeah...I know. Listen...I think we should...I think we need to pay attention to our own needs more," the heir blurted out his face going red. Harry stared at his boyfriend then blinking. Tom seemed to realize Harry's line of thought and quickly started shaking his head. "I want to have more time to practice on apparating!"

"Oh," Harry said as his mind went out of overload mode. "Right...you need more time to study on your own..."

"With Dumbledore actually...we got a lot done today...if I keep this up I'll be able to pull it off by next Saturday and we can put this whole mess behind us," he said firmly. "You don't mind do you? I need to learn this."

"Of course," Harry said starting to laugh. "It'll be fine, I can study with Hermione," he said his body beginning to relax. "I thought you were going to dump me or something. You have no idea how many muggles get dumped with a sentence like that." He lied his head down on the pillow then and instantly found himself back in Tom's embrace.

"You have no idea how hard I worked to make you mine. You'll have to kill me to get out of this relationship," he said his grip tightening. Harry had a feeling the heir was telling the truth. Even so, the way Tom had explained his desire had really made him worry.

"You know," Harry said a few minutes later. He was running a finger down Tom's arm trying to fall asleep. "Ron pointed something out today."

"About?"

"It doesn't matter if you were helping me my fourth year. You weren't there my first three years...I did all those things by myself...right?" Harry asked wanting to make sure. He'd honestly thought that Tom had been nowhere near him his fourth year and then found out he had. Had the boy been there from the start?

"No I wasn't," Tom admitted and even allowed Harry a look into his memories. There was nothing being hidden, no fog associated with memory charms or any shields showing he was trying to hide anything. "I heard about the events...but no I couldn't help you."

"Then you have to admit that I managed to hold my own," Harry said turning to face his boyfriend. "I went up against Voldemort and a memory of him...that looked like you," he said with a small laugh. If he'd remembered his second year he probably wouldn't have been able to accept his boyfriend. Now however it didn't matter. Harry knew his boyfriend was only like Voldemort in attitude, not values.

"Yes...you did," Tom said his teeth slightly gritted. "I wish-"

"No, let me have this," Harry said glaring at him slightly. "I have the right to be able to prove I can protect myself...I want you around me, I want your protections, but I want to be able to protect you too," he said kissing his boyfriend deeply. That's what Harry had decided it all boiled down to. His being able to fight wasn't about his desire to prove he could fight, it was his wanting for his boyfriend to know if he ever needed protecting, if he ever needed someone to count on to watch his back, that Harry would be there to do so. "You wouldn't have picked someone weak right? Your lover has to be strong enough to deal with all that bloody mess of a past you have attached to you." He ran his hand through Tom's hair. "All of it."

"True enough," Tom hissed at him in the snake language. "Without strength a lover would be pointless."

"So you trust me then," Harry questioned him as he put his arms around Tom's back. "You know I can fight beside you." The last part was not a question, because Harry knew already he could handle being by his boyfriend's side. It was Tom that needed convincing.

"Yes," Tom agreed. That was all Harry needed to hear. He closed the distance between himself and the heir and gave himself fully over to him.

(X)

The day of their next match finally arrived, Harry couldn't be more excited. The small amounts of breathing room Tom and him were giving one another allowed for the rest of their time to seem more valuable and to the Gryffindor's amazement homework remained easy for him even without Tom's help. Right now however was not the time for him to worry about things such as homework or assignments, today was all about Quidditch.

It was a bit odd not to hear the heir screaming and whining about his going to go play instead of spending time with him, but it was welcomed none the less. Tom had run off to meet with Dumbledore so he could practice, though Harry swore the headmaster usually watched all the Quidditch matches and had a feeling he'd be bringing a very disappointed Slytherin to the match. That wasn't Harry's problem though, that was Dumbledore's as far as he was concerned.

Grinning he took in a large breath of fresh hair and let it out. Today was going to be a great day. He started pulling on his equipment just as his fellow teammates came in and he knew they were all ready. Not one of them looked nervous. It was after all Hufflepuff and not Slytherin. Even Ravenclaw put up a much better fight than Hufflepuff.

"This is going to be an easy win," Harry told everyone as they dressed. "Let's not get overly confident though. We'll treat this as a training session so when we go up against the winners of next week's game we'll be in top shape," he told them happily. "Chances are we'll be against Slytherin as usual, so we need all the practice we can get." While he wanted his team to be invincible, he was not delusional. A single screw up could easily cost them the whole game.

"Happy much?" Ron asked after he'd finished getting ready. Harry noticed he was gripping his broom so tightly his fingers were turning white.

"Calm down, it's Hufflepuff, we aren't against Draco right now. Save the fear for when your boyfriend is up in the air," he told him seriously. The pep talk though only left Ron looking paler and Harry sighing. It was nearly impossible to get Ron's nerves to stop bothering him. Why he tried every game to make his friend relaxed was beyond him, because it never seemed to work. "You'll do fine. We've won all our games so far."

"Yeah...right," he said looking around nervously. "You don't think...you don't think I'll screw up and cause us to lose our first one right?" He asked looking completely sick at this point.

"No, I think you'll help lead us to victory like you always do," Harry corrected him shoving him towards the door. "Now come on, we've got a game to play."

(X)

"Aren't we going to practice?" Tom asked annoyed. He'd gone to his stepfather's office in hopes of learning some new tricks, not to get dragged down to the Quidditch pitch. Of course sitting here he did get to see Harry, but up in the air wasn't exactly his favorite view of the Gryffindor.

"After the match," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "I've yet to miss a game and I don't intend to start now. Don't you like watching Harry?"

"Of course I do," Tom snorted. "You know I hate Quidditch." It didn't help that they were in the teacher's box higher up than most of the students. It was easy to see his boyfriend from here, but that just made him more uneasy. What if he had to run out to the field again to catch him? Being up here he'd never make it in time.

"Ah yes, taking you to the Quidditch world cup did not turn out quite as I had hoped. You were such a fan before that..."

"Having your life nearly taken from you can do that to a person," he snorted looking away from the field. The teams had just flown up into the sky and seeing Harry suddenly rise up on it made his stomach turn. Yes Hogwarts was much safer than the world cup, but that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. "I wish he'd just quit."

"I thought we talked about how you both need to do things for yourselves," Dumbledore said finally turning away from the game. "He enjoys the game very much, why would you take that from him?"

"So I'm completely traumatized," he said a scowl on his face. "The first time I get to leave the house since leaving that necklace and I almost end up dead."

"Well you couldn't have expected Voldemort and his followers to just leave you be. You do know quite a few of their secrets," the headmaster pointed out.

Tom didn't care what he knew though. What had happened at that world cup shouldn't have. To think it'd gone so smoothly and then...

"And Gryffindor scores!" The announcer screamed, or rather McGonagall Tom realized. He turned to see who was commenting on the game and couldn't help, but start laughing. McGonagall was fighting with Luna Lovegood for the mic. He'd been so busy dwelling on his stupid past that he hadn't even realized what was going on around him.

"Okay, this one might be worth watching."

"You just want to watch Minerva," Dumbledore said smiling brightly.

"I want to watch McGonagall fight with Lovegood," Tom corrected him. He knew the transfiguration teacher was a huge Quidditch fan and the fact that Luna was not doing her job must be driving the woman nuts.

"You always did enjoy watching Minerva rip her hair out," Dumbledore mused.

"Why not? She drove me nuts." That wasn't completely true. Tom had done a lot more damage to McGonagall than she could ever hope to achieve against him. Still, watching her randomly grab the mic from Lovegood and yell out the score while desperately trying to get Luna to stop talking about random things was enough to keep him amused, at least until he heard a loud scream and turned his attention back to the field. Two of the Hufflepuffs had gotten into a fight with a Gryffindor beater. By the looks of it the Gryffindor had dropped his bat, but as to why he could only guess. "What happened?"

"I wasn't looking," the headmaster admitted turning to follow Tom's view. "I believe a time out should be called..."

"Or the fool could go down there and grab his bat himself," Tom offered.

"Have you no mercy for anyone?"

"Harry's still alive," Tom grinned. The headmaster frowned at him for that. He didn't really care as usual though. The fool should have kept his grip on the bat. That was his job. Or rather that had been his thinking until he saw the same two Hufflepuffs who'd gone after the first Gryffindor beater go after the second one and wrestle the bat out his hand and throw it. "Okay, I take my last statement back," he muttered. "They're cheating."

"Quite," the headmaster muttered. He stood up raising his hand, which McGonagall caught quickly. Luna was too busy talking about clouds to notice and the Transfiguration teacher grabbed the mic.

"And the headmaster is calling for a time out, I'm sure this has to do with the unfair way Hufflepuff is playing," she screamed out.

Madame Hooch came flying over to the teacher's box instantly.

"I'm sure you saw what happened?" He asked quietly. It amazed Tom how quiet the two teachers managed to talk and hear one another with how loud the Hufflepuffs were jeering.

"I did, was just getting ready to call the time out myself," she said and flew back over to the players.

"How pathetic," Tom scorned them. "Over a stupid game, what's the point of cheating?"

"Some people just happen to be more desperate than others."

Tom glared at the headmaster for that. He knew the man was talking about himself and not the Quidditch teams. It wasn't worth saying anything though so he looked away and stared down at the ground the rest of the match.

(X)

"That was great!" Harry screamed when the entire team was back in the changing room. They'd managed to win by forty points thanks to Ron's wonderful goal keeping and Ginny's throwing. "This was one of our best games ever!"

The other team members of course agreed and cheered. They'd be celebrating tonight and Harry reminded himself to send an owl to Fred and George for taking the time out to teach Ron and Ginny how to play when they were younger.

When everyone finished changing they headed for the common room to celebrate. Of course as soon as they got out of the changing room their fellow Gryffindor house members met them outside cheering loudly. Harry easily spotted Tom farther off, but he was walking off with Dumbledore so let him be. He couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed, but he knew how much the Slytherin hated Quidditch. Ignoring his feelings so he wouldn't chase after his boyfriend, he turned his attention back to his friends. Hermione suddenly throwing her arms around Harry.

"That was wonderful!" She said hugging Ron then. "You guys played great!"

"We seem to be able to play better when we actually have decent practices," Harry grinned. Those 'decent' practices of course had been the result of no Tom jumping them every five minutes and whining about how pointless Quidditch is.

"He was watching," Hermione said instantly. "With Dumbledore."

"Yeah, I saw the time out," Harry snickered. "It's alright, he's spending time with his dad, no big deal," he said when he noticed what Hermione was really trying to get at. It bugged him, but he had no right to intervene, not when he'd been trying so hard to get the two to spend time with each other in the first place. "I'm sure we'll make out later or something."

"Right," Hermione said her face turning a slight tint of red. "Well let's go celebrate!"

(TBC)

I'm not going to even write an excuse. Let's just say life has been throwing one unexpected event after another. Sorry.


	45. Undeniable Truth

CAN YOU BELIEVE? Someone actually tried to copy and paste all 45 chapters of A Wizard's Lament and pass it off as their own? Well it turns out every story on that account is stolen, it's sickening that someone would actually make a profile for strictly stealing stories. I felt horrible for those who got subjected to reading shonen ai when they hated it, because not only did this person steal Lament, she was dumb and erased the warnings and notes at the beginning of each chapter. For anyone who has been tricked I cannot apologize enough. For those who told me and helped me report the stealing, I cannot thank you enough. Everyone thank you for the support that you show me and my stories. They aren't the greatest written things out there, but they mean a lot to me. So seriously, thank you.

Warnings: It's shonen ai, get over it.

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump

Italics = thoughts

' ' = mind speech

I think that's it...

Chapter, 45: Undeniable Truth

"And now you merely do it," Dumbledore instructed. That's all there was to it, just follow the simple words, remember them clearly and actually perform them. Tom took the step forward saying the spell as he did a turn and found himself on the other side of Hogsmeade's main street exactly where he had intended to go.

"I did it..." He said almost in disbelief. He'd been trying so hard for so many weeks before and especially when his stepfather had agreed to give him private lessons he could hardly believe that he'd finally managed to do it. Yes, all that practicing had finally shown fruition. He looked around spotting Dumbledore who was smiling at him from across the road. Tom gave him one look before grinning back and charging the old man. He hadn't felt so accomplished in anything in such a long time. He threw his arms around his stepfather hugging him tightly. "Thank you!"

"I only gave you the instructions you needed," the headmaster said. Tom felt the old man release him and dropped his hand onto the Slytherin's head playfully ruffling up his hair. "I'm very proud of you."

"I'm going to pass this test as soon as that ministry man returns," Tom said with a smirk. There was no way that dementor of a person was going to best him. No, he'd take that ministry official to his knees and laugh as he begged for mercy.

"Yes, I believe you will have no problem with such a feat," the headmaster said causing Tom to look up at him and drop his thoughts. Would he publicly humiliate the man if Dumbledore was in the same room watching over him to make sure he didn't screw up? Probably not, perhaps it would best if he wasn't left alone with the man.

"Will you watch?" Tom asked before he had a chance to completely think such a request through. He didn't want this stepfather seeing him as weak or worse, needy right now, but then again, he didn't need to be in azkaban, because his dark thoughts were getting the best of him. Even so he was supposed to be acting like a mature adult, he was seventeen after all and yet, here he was thinking and acting like a four year old.

"Of course. Watching my students learn would not seem in the least bit un-ordinary."

"Yeah, if you have nothing else to do," he said trying to make up for his last statement. It was true he wanted Dumbledore there, but he didn't want to be held responsible either for the old man skipping out on some kind of important work just so he could keep him out of trouble and see him pass his apparition test. "You did just see me do it."

"Alas, I enjoy watching my son!" Dumbledore said laughing. "Shall we go celebrate?" He motioned to The Three Broomsticks that was not too far from them and began walking. "If you wish, I could also give you a chocolate frog upon our return."

Tom gave one last look to Hogwarts before catching up with his stepfather and nodded. Harry was no doubt still celebrating his victory, why not celebrate his own? Granted, the Quidditch parties often had very good food, but he didn't like seeing everyone hang all over his boyfriend and worse. He wasn't allowed to do anything about it. No, going with Dumbledore was a might better idea as far as he was concerned.

(X)

The party was still going strong hours later, even Professor McGonagall had joined in with the festivities at some point. Harry however had slowly found himself drifting in and out of excitement until his mood had gone completely southward to borderline depression. He had completely lost it when he'd found Ron and Draco making out on the couch in the common room. Why hadn't his boyfriend come back yet? They could have made out to celebrate couldn't they? It was Harry's victory too.

Despite his thoughts Tom had not shown up and so frustrated and feeling slightly ignored he climbed the steps up to the dorm. When he got there he shut the door and collapsed onto his bed so he could stare at his favorite spot in the whole world, the ceiling. Scowling he flipped over and put his pillow over his head. Tom would come back at some point he'd just have to wait. Patience was not exactly Harry's strong point at the moment however.

"How long is going to keep staying out late?" he asked his fist connecting with another pillow in front of him. He was so used to having his boyfriend attached to him that it was starting to drive him nuts while he was gone. It was fine when he was gone for a few hours, the best when he had Quidditch practice and Tom wasn't there to scream curses every five seconds, but five hours at a time was getting to be too much for the Gryffindor. "I can't stand this!"

Harry heard the door suddenly open and close and then some footsteps. He peeked his head out from under the pillow to see Draco kneeling down by the chest in front of Ron's bed and going through it. Harry's reply was a long frustrated sigh and he hit the pillow again.

"Glad to see you're in a good mood," Draco said not even turning away from the chest. "Someone try to hit on you down there?"

"No and that's kind of the problem," Harry said getting to his knees and crawling to the edge of his bed so he could get a better look at Draco and what he was doing. "What are you looking for anyway?"

"Some kind of chocolate Ron got for his birthday," the Slytherin muttered. He didn't look too pleased when he pulled out one of Ron's dirty socks and he threw it under the boy's bed to be done with it.

"Oh," Harry replied. That wasn't really interesting. He could get a hold of chocolate easily. He watched Draco for a few seconds in silence before saying anything again. "Is Tom trying to get back at me for something?"

That got the other student's attention. He dropped everything that was in his hands and slowly turned his head in Harry's direction before completely removing himself from the trunk and going over to Harry's bed.

"With all that talk about you wanting some spac-"

"Well I'm not used to it," Harry admitted cutting the Slytherin off. "I know I'm completely dependent on him and we need time alone. I think it's great that Tom and Dumbledore are finally spending time together and I shouldn't want him every minute, but...It feels weird when he isn't near me."

"Are you mad or did you forget about that link you two have?" Draco asked bluntly. Harry felt his face go red and said nothing. He hadn't thought about their bond. It was usually closed lately, but perhaps that's what he was missing? If the bond was open then even if Tom wasn't standing next to him it'd feel like he was, their thoughts and emotions would freely flow from one to the other.

"Forgot," he sighed with a small shrug. "I guess having him as the shadow taking every step with me wasn't exactly a good thing."

"No," Draco agreed folding his arms across his chest. "But maybe that's what you need anyway. You want your freedom and your space, open the bond, and use it like you're supposed to."

Harry wanted to ask Draco what he meant by that, but the boy was already out the door, the box of chocolates clutched tightly in his hands. Frowning Harry lied back down on the bed to get his view of the ceiling back. The bond should be open; at least enough so things like the attack in the forbidden forest wouldn't happen again. It wasn't so bad either having the Slytherin's spirit directly intertwined with his own, it was something special that no one else, as far as he knew, would ever experience. It hadn't occurred to Harry he'd been taking that bond for granted, but now he was going to be on a mission to fix that.

"Just got to do it," he told himself firmly. It had actually been awhile since Harry had fully opened his side of the bond. He'd been so paranoid with the way the heir had been reading him like he was some sort of book that he'd completely forgotten just how soothing there bond had been beforehand.

With that thought in mind he closed his eyes concentrating on the magic that was his bond and opened the supposed door that he had slammed shut on it. Instantly his entire consciousness was over whelmed, feelings of peace, happiness, and a great deal of arrogance filled him and he couldn't help laughing. His boyfriend was at peace with his father, it seemed he'd managed to apparate without a single issue and was now celebrating it.

'Congratulations,' Harry told him making sure to tinge his word with happiness.

'Thanks...' Came the surprised reply. Harry wasn't shocked at that, it had been awhile since they'd use the bond to talk at a distance like this and even longer with emotions attached to the conversation.

'When do you think you'll be back? Dumbledore can't hold you forever.'

'He's not holding me, we're drinking butterbeers,' Tom told him and Harry saw the mental eye roll.

'Alright, when do you plan on randomly showing up in the dorm tonight so I can kiss you for a job well done?' Harry asked. He hoped the rewording of his question would get the heir's interest and he wouldn't stay gone much longer. Instead he was met with a small amount of embarrassment from Tom's end and the shutting of the bond from the heir's side.

Harry had to blink a few times and try the bond again before he accepted the fact that Tom had indeed such his side of it. It wasn't out of anger, Harry knew that, but he couldn't for the life of him understand why Tom was so embarrassed about the two of them kissing. It was usually his idea in the first place to go snog somewhere every chance they got and worse.

_Maybe he was trying to listen to something Dumbledore was talking about_, he thought to himself. Or maybe Dumbledore had realized there was a conversation going on between the two of them and had started teasing his boyfriend about it, thus the embarrassment. Harry decided the later of his two thoughts must be the real one and bent over to grab his book bag. If he couldn't relax and have fun at the party or enjoy himself talking to his boyfriend then he might as well study to keep his mind off those things.

Harry ended up finishing three chapters of his transfiguration book before throwing it back into his chest when he noticed a leather bound black book, the same one he'd seen while he was at number twelve. His curiosity easily got the best of him and he opened it up to see what some of the chapters were about, but to his surprise found it completely blank. The index page showed a single chapter, but that was it. All the other pages in the book were blank even though chapter one was entitled "Going beyond the advance basics". Harry knew he was in no situation to actually work on anything advance, unless it was defense magic, but decided he might as well read it anyway.

He opened the page to the first chapter and scanned it. It seemed like chapter one would be an introduction to the rest of the book, no surprise there, most books were set up that way. He managed to get through the first half of chapter one when the door to the dorm opened again and in stepped Ron and Draco, Ron looking very unstable.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked dropping the book. He could read later.

"To much everything," Draco said removing his arm from around the red head and dropping him onto their bed. "He drank about five butterbeers and then attacked the chocolate he asked me to get. Finished up with some cauldron cakes." The Slytherin glared at Ron when the red head tried to grab his arm and pull him down, but Draco side stepped at just the right time to avoid it.

"Wow," was all Harry could get out. Ron had definitely been celebrating downstairs. "Guess he liked this party more than his birthday."

"Can you really blame him for that?" Draco asked looking mildly annoyed at Harry now. No, Harry couldn't blame him. Tom had basically destroyed his best friend's birthday with the random stunts he'd pulled. Something else that could have been avoided had their bond been open.

_Like he'd have kept it open then_, Harry thought to himself angrily. Tom wouldn't have even had to try and block the thought though. He was so good at hiding things it would have just vanished from his mind until the plan was already in action. "Anything I can do to help?" He asked.

"Hermione said he just needed some rest or he would crash worse and get sick," Draco said looking rather annoyed.

"I wouldn't crash. I'd just...fall over!" Ron giggled falling back onto his bed. "I love this bed. It's just...just such a great bed!"

"Don't talk to me," Draco growled at him. He turned his back on Ron and walked over to a very unnerved Harry. "You, talk."

"Me? About what...?"

"Anything!" The Slytherin roared. Harry had seen the look Draco was currently giving him. It was the one he reserved for his most foul of moods, which usually resulted in Dudley getting hurt, badly.

"Right, so um..." His quickly went from unnerved however to amused. If there was one person Tom had shown this book to, it'd be Draco. "Wait, I was going through my things and found this." He grabbed the book he'd just been looking at and held it up to Draco. "What is it?"

"...I've never seen that," Draco said his arms falling to his side as he walked over to the bed. He took it from Harry and started examining it. "What kind of book is this?"

"I'm not sure. I just started reading it...some of the pages are blank." Harry said climbing out of the bed. He'd really hoped that Draco would have been told about the book so he could get some answers himself. "It's weird isn't it? It has to belong to Tom, it was in my chest while back at you know."

"Well he doesn't tell me everything," Draco said flipping through the pages once more. "If he had something to tell us, he would." That being said the Slytherin dropped the book back into Harry's trunk and left it there.

"I wish I could be as accepting as you are," Harry muttered eyeing the chest. Draco being able to accept some things as just how they were must have been a pure blood trait that was taught to them as they were growing up or something, because Harry sure didn't have it. "I see something he doesn't explain and I expect the worse."

"Because it usually is," Draco smirked at him.

"You're not helping," Harry said glaring at him. Even so his view ended up back on the chest for a few minutes before he finally gave up and headed for the door. "I'm heading to Dumbledore's office to see what's taking so long."

"You're going to make him think you don't trust him," Draco pointed out taking a seat on Harry's bed. The Gryffindor didn't blame him, he wouldn't have wanted to be next to Ron at the moment either as the red head was currently chewing on the canopy for some unknown reason.

"I don't, but right now it's a matter of missing him, not lack of trust."

"Alright, let me try it this way. Don't leave me with him," Draco growled jerking a thumb at Ron. At that point said boy let out a yelp as he fell off the bed and hit the floor. Harry wasn't sure if he should check on him or not, but Ron merely started giggling again and begun wrapping himself up in the canopy.

"You're free to come with," Harry offered.

"I don' think he should be left alone."

"Probably not..." Harry let out a sigh then and returned to his bed. Draco was asking for his help, Tom would return eventually, he could wait. "Are you sure it's just rest he needs?" he asked when Ron vanished from view by rolling under the bed taking down the whole canopy top with him.

"Maybe someone put something in the butterbeers?"

"Was anyone else acting that strange?" Harry asked suddenly feeling worried. There was a reason the members of the order were the ones cooking their meals instead of the house elves in Hogwarts. "Where did this food come from?"

"I don't know," Draco said suddenly going pale. "You don't think he was poisoned or something do you?"

"He doesn't look like he's dying, just like he's gone mad," Harry said getting up and going over to the bed. He bent down and grabbed Ron by his feet and with one quick jerk tugged the boy out from under it. "Would you help me?"

"Right," Draco said shaking his head and coming over. He got Ron's arms and between the two of them they got him onto Harry's bed so they could start unraveling him.

"You fool," Harry said trying to find the end of the cloth. When he saw nothing he decided there was only one way around this and took his wand out. "We'll have to cut it this way, hold him still."

"That's a lot easier said than done," Draco glared. It was obvious normal means of keeping the red head still wasn't going to work so Draco ended up having to climb on top of Ron and hold his wrist down with his hands, his feet holding down the red head's ankles. "Get this over fast."

Harry nodded and doing his best to not cut his friend, started removing the canopy cloth from around him. It took a good six minutes before Harry got to it all, but he managed to free his friend without drawing any blood from him.

"I hope that can be repaired," Harry said looking down at the canopy.

"So do I," Draco agreed, but he was looking at Ron, not the cloth. "Maybe we should take him to the infirmary..."

"The can...oh right, Ron."

"Well...this is an interesting sight."

Both Gryffindor and Slytherin turned then, their faces red. Standing a few feet from them was of course Tom, who didn't seem quite sure how to react to the situation he'd walked in on. He looked at Harry questioningly motioning to the bed and raising an eyebrow silently.

"Too much butterbeer," Harry said wondering why Draco and he hadn't thrown Ron onto their own bed instead of his. "We think someone may have put something in it."

"Well that would explain some of this," Tom offered closing the distance between them. "The reason he's on our bed instead of his own?" The Slytherin asked. "Especially with Draco who is not exactly in bad shape?" The heir had hissed the last sentence, no doubt so Draco wouldn't hear it.

'Look, Ron was...' Harry decided it was much easier to just show the heir what had happened rather than try to explain it. That was one of the reasons they had a bond wasn't it? To clear up misunderstandings? He looked his boyfriend square in the eyes forcing the bond open on his own side and somehow managing to force Tom's open as well. The images of what had taken place went through their link, Tom suddenly starting to laugh at least until the leather bound book made its appearance and his look went sour.

"Why are you going through my things?" He asked then no concern for Ron in his mind at all. "That book was a gift."

"I found it while we were on holiday and I forgot about it...I was bored I happened to find it again today and why am I explaining myself to you? You're the one hiding things in my trunk. What is it?"

"It's our trunk," Tom reminded him with a glare. "And it was a book Dumbledore gave me to study from over the summer."

"How can you study from a book with only one chapter?" The Gryffindor demanded.

"You really are stupid aren't you? You read a chapter fully and it releases the next one. It's to make sure you can't jump ahead and do something stupid without reading the basics first!"

"Oh...right," Harry said turning away his face now crimson. Why hadn't he thought of that? A book like that did sound kind of dangerous so being forced to read it from page one to whatever it went to was a smart charm indeed. "What's it about?"

"Hexes," Tom said simply walking pass his boyfriend to their bed. "You should learn to keep a better eye on your boyfriend," he said to Draco with a shake of his head. "You know he's a fool."

"Just like you're a git?" Draco asked removing himself from off of Ron. "Hermione said he needed rest-"

"In my bed?" Tom asked.

"No, you know why he's over here," Draco growled.

"Stop it," Harry warned them. "Draco and I will deal with this, we're talking once we have Ron under control," he warned the heir.

"If you want him under control..." The heir pulled his wand out and Harry instantly snatched it from him.

"Don't you dare." The Gryffindor shoved the wand into his pocket and helped Draco lift Ron up and move him over to the red head's own bed. Once there Draco took some of the ripped up canopy and used it to tie Ron's limbs to the bed posts.

"Should keep him still for a while," Draco said happily.

"The way you two think scares me," Harry sighed throwing Tom his wand back. "I can't believe you could even think of using an unforgiveable again, after what happened last week during lessons."

"I am a dark lord," Tom reminded him, but Harry ignored the comment and walked over to his bed and got back onto it.

"You're driving me mad," Harry said. "Besides, you're no dark lord yet. You're just a Hogwarts student." The words made Tom twitch, but he did go quiet, something Harry needed. They should really be staying focused on Ron and what he could possibly be going through, not whether or not Tom wanted to be a dark lord at the moment. "Without being a git, do you think we should take him to the infirmary?"

"No," Tom said sitting down on the bed quietly. "He's fine, just too much butter beer in one go, like you thought."

Harry let out a sigh of relief and nodded. If someone had tried to go after Ron using the butter beer for the Quidditch celebration there was no telling how many others would end up getting sick from it. Harry couldn't help frowning then realizing just how many people he put in danger from just being alive.

(X)

"Here," Tom said once everything had calmed down within the dorm. Ron and Draco were asleep, Harry and Tom changed into their pajamas and in their bed as well though not asleep. Tom was holding a chocolate frog in his hand to him.

"So, Ron gets to snog Draco for winning and I get a chocolate frog?" Harry asked taking the sweet. He wasn't about to actually turn the thing down, he just felt he deserved more.

"I've spent the last week working on appearating and this was all I got from Dumbledore. Well this and some butter beer...and dinner," he admitted somewhat sheepishly. Harry rolled his eyes at that and kissed him. The heir could be so adorable when he wanted to be.

"So, now we're both underappreciated," Harry snickered.

"Oh and Dumbledore's requested us for a meeting tomorrow."

"Wonder what he'll show us this time." Harry unwrapped the frog then and snapped it in half giving part of it to Tom. The Slytherin took his half and placed it into his mouth.

"More memories I believe," Tom said after he'd swallowed the chocolate frog.

"Of fourth year?" Harry asked hopefully. He knew better than to believe he'd get another memory so soon, but asking never hurt.

"Of Voldemort," Tom corrected him his eyes slightly narrowed.

Well, Harry had tried. It wasn't his fault he was curious about his own past. If a certain memory charm hadn't been done in the first place he'd already know what was rightfully his to remember.

"When will I get to see more of my fourth year?"

"After we kill Voldemort," Tom suggested with a shrug.

"How about once we run out of memories that have to do with Voldemort?" Harry asked returning the heir's glare. The heir was not going to keep his memories from him, he wouldn't allow it.

"Maybe."

Harry ended up letting the subject drop then. He had other things he could talk to his boyfriend about to piss him off.

"Listen about this afternoon...I think we need to practice using our bond more."

"For what?" Tom asked looking somewhat surprised.

"Well...I'm really glad we get to do things by ourselves, but...at the same time I can't stand not having you within calling distance. If our bond is opened like it used to be..."

"I could easily start manipulating you again," Tom smirked.

"You wouldn't."

"No, probably not," Tom admitted leaning closer to Harry. "But you need to realize that, that possibility exists."

"Why are you trying to talk me out of opening it now? You used to hate it when we closed it."

"Well I'm kind of used to having it shut now," the heir muttered. "It's kind of nice to have my thoughts and emotions to myself." The answer completely threw Harry off. He never expected such words to leave the Slytherin's mouth. They had always tried so hard to bind themselves to each other. The rings, the tattoo markings, the bond, why the sudden change?

"I swear if you're screwing with me..."

"I'm not," Tom cut in. "Isn't it more exciting trying to gu-"

"No it's not," Harry hissed at him. "It isn't. I hate trying to guess with you and we always end up fighting when our bond is closed, because you barely understand me!"

"But with the bond closed lately I have gotten to know you and I had to remember this time, because with it locked I had no chance of reading it to make sure I would get things right." He took Harry's chin into his hand and kissed him deeply. 'But if you're willing to make my life easier I have no qualms.'

Their bond suddenly reopened from Tom's side as Harry had never re closed his, the emotions came again. Having Tom so close to him made the emotions intensify that much more and it took him a few moments to gather himself before he could even see properly again. This feeling of mixing emotions however was exactly what the Gryffindor had been missing. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend 's neck.

'Allow me to give you a proper reward that even Draco could not hope to give to Ron.'

'Do it,' Harry ordered him. Tom of course obeyed without question.

(TBC)

Perfect? No. Updated? Yep. Enjoy!


	46. The Next Memory

And so leads us to chapter 45...wow.

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump.

' ' is mind talk

italics is thought

" " normal speech

Chapter, 46: The Next Memory

Needless to say, the previous night Harry and Tom had to place a silencing charm around themselves so no one around would hear their fun. Harry had thoroughly enjoyed himself with the bond wide open as they took one another, their own way of celebrating their successes from earlier that day.

Now however the two of them were walking down the hall holding hands headed to Dumbledore's office. A new memory was going to be shown to the both of them and it was bound to be interesting at the least. Harry had wondered more than a few times throughout the day what they were going to be shown to the dismay of Hermione and his teachers. He'd completely dazed out in potions and nearly drowned in his cauldron before Tom grabbed him at the last second. It was to Harry's relief then when the clock finally struck the meeting time so the two of them could go and the Gryffindor could finally satisfy his curiosity and get on with the rest of his life.

They arrived at the bottom of the staircase, said the password and headed up, Harry nearly dragging Tom with him. They stopped at the top of the steps, Harry knocking then waiting for a reply.

"Enter." The headmaster said and the two boys walked in to see Professor Trelawney standing in front of Dumbledore's desk looking outraged.

"You," she said her eyes focusing in on Tom. "Your world will come crashing down around you as a result of your misdeeds!" She screeched at him. Without another word she stormed pass the two boys and slammed the door shut behind her. Tom looked slightly amused at the outburst, but Harry was not sure he liked that prediction. Then again, she'd told Harry numerous times that he was going to die a slow and painful death and yet here he was.

"Fear not Tom, Sybill is just a bit...out of sorts right now," the headmaster said with a small smile.

"She's still mad about the centaur?" Tom asked casually and Harry realized that the fight had been about Sybill and Firenze. He didn't see what the big deal was. Sybill taught the higher grade students and advance courses while Firenze taught the younger students, didn't that mean anything to the woman?

"I'm afraid so. I don't believe she realizes how much danger she is in let alone that it is impossible for me to send Firenze back into the forest. She'll just have to make due I'm afraid." He motioned to the two seats in front of his desk and both students sat down. "Well, I believe we've sorted out a great deal of things so far. Tom, your help has been more than I could have ever hoped for. Knowing what went on between Riddle and Professor Slughorn was very important however...I'm afraid I must see the actual memory."

"Why?" Tom asked and Harry could feel him shift from surprised to angry. "You don't trust my words?"

"Of course I do," Dumbledore replied quickly giving Tom a slight glare. "However it would be most helpful if I had the memory from Professor Slughorn in order to fill in holes and proof." He looked to his cabinet that held the pensive as well as all the vials full of memories. "It is something we may need later on."

"You know as well as I do the ministry isn't going to do anything to help get rid of Voldemort," Tom spat. Dumbledore bowed his head ever so slightly, but Harry knew he was agreeing with Tom. Harry agreed with him too. As far as he was concerned the ministry was filled with nothing, but people who were determined to get ahead and work for the dark lord, not get rid of him.

"So we just need to get the memory? That shouldn't be too hard," Harry said when the silence had lingered as long as he could bare. The other two wizards looked at him, but Dumbledore's smile returned.

"I should hope not, but I won't lie, it probably won't be the easiest of things."

"We'll get it done," Harry assured the headmaster. He was sure if he just had Tom think of it as a matter of pride that he'd run down to the dungeons without a second thought to steal all of Slughorn's memories.

"I appreciate it Harry...so now where we left off...Voldemort had left Hogwarts with top grades...top everything reall-"

"Only because I was enclosed in a necklace," Tom cut in.

"Of course," the headmaster smiled. "Since you were locked away Voldemort was free to carry on as he wished. I often wondered what job he would go after and when it turned out that he wanted at job at Hogwarts it didn't surprise me at all."

"At Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "What did he want with Hogwarts?"

"Well Harry, I believe Voldemort saw Hogwarts as his home, his real home. Here he managed to gain so much of what he wanted and working here he would have had a great advantage and a certain amount of power over people and students."

"He did when he was just a student," Tom pointed out.

"Yes, but as a teacher he would have been far more dangerous. Students often look up to their professors and had he become a role model, which would have been easy for him no doubt, things could have taken a turn for the worse. I was thrilled when Professor Dippet told me he had turned Voldemort away, because he thought he was too young."

"Or maybe that old man finally got a part of his brain working," Tom muttered.

"What class did he want to teach?" Harry asked, but felt stupid as soon as the words left his mouth. If there was anything a dark lord wanted to teach it would be obvious.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore said. "A most dangerous position for us for someone like him to be in."

"So where did he go?" Harry asked. He was actually a bit surprised that Voldemort hadn't gotten revenge for being turned down for the teaching job.

"Well, it may seem odd at first, but he actually applied and got a job at Borgin and Burkes."

"I could understand why," Tom said with a nod. "I wouldn't mind working there myself." Harry glared at his boyfriend and hit the side of his head. "Hey!"

"Remember, not trying to become a dark lord," He growled at him. "What's the memory about professor?"

It took Dumbledore a few moments to gather the items he wanted to show them, especially since he kept snickering every few seconds due to Harry and Tom's random whacks to one another. The two students finally stopped when the headmaster had reseated himself behind the desk, the pensive and two vials setting on top of it.

"Alright then...this first one is from an old house elf, Hokey," Dumbledore said holding the vial up. "She worked for a witch named Hepzibah Smith-"

"That name sounds familiar," Tom said a small frown tugging at his lips. Mentally he was annoyed with himself for not knowing the name directly, while at the same time wondering why he'd even take the time to attempt to memorize it in the first place. Tom's mental state of course amused Harry.

"I'm sure it does to one such as yourself and Voldemort who were fascinated with Hogwart items. I'm sure you'll understand why you've heard the name before soon." He removed the stopper in the vial and poured the contents into the pensive. "Might I add you not be alarmed," Dumbledore smiled and then he was gone. Harry and Tom looked at each other, shrugged, and dived into the pensive themselves.

When Harry had managed to gather himself he found that he was standing in a somewhat rich looking house with a very weird looking witch applying way to much makeup to herself and yelling at her poor old house elf.

"Hurry up Hokey!" The witch screamed and the house elf ran off into another room without another word. A bell sounded from a different room and the witch screamed again, Hokey running out of the room she'd just entered and turning into the other one.

"This place is a mess," Harry muttered looking around. Every inch of the room they were standing in looked like it was covered with stacked boxes. The only things that didn't seem to have a box on it were two chairs and small path ways leading from one room to the next. "Does she horde things?"

"It sure looks like it," Tom said shaking his head. He still didn't seem to have figured out who this woman was even after seeing her and her cluttered house.

"Right this way!" Harry heard the house elf squeak and turned around just in time to see Voldemort walk into the room. It was then that he understood what Dumbledore had warned them about before entering the memory. There was at this point no difference in looks between Voldemort and his boyfriend. They both shared the same beautifully slanted eyes and slightly hallowed cheeks. The long and silk like black hair on the pale white skin, the only difference was, Tom's eyes were actually red unlike Voldemort's who still had dark brown.

"Oh...that's...right," Harry was at a loss for words.

"Will you stop drooling over him?" Tom demanded angrily.

"Pay attention you two!" The headmaster warned them.

Both students directed their gazes on the three they were supposed to be watching. Harry had the odd feeling that Tom wanted to kill Voldemort where he sat, but everyone knew you couldn't harm a person in a memory or Voldemort would have been erased from history years ago.

"I have two treasures you know, two very important, very secret treasures...you can tell no one that I have these," she warned him. Voldemort of course was smiling and giving the old witch a nod. The woman seemed to take that as a promise and grabbed two boxes from her house elf when Hokey had reentered the room. "I wish to show you both of these things and I believe you will enjoy them greatly."

"I'm sure anything you have to show me I will enjoy," Voldemort answered and the witch started giggling. Harry was sure his ears would be hurting for a while.

"Now I'm sure I won't have to tell you what either of these treasures are." Smiling her eyes remaining on Voldemort she unwrapped the first box, removed the lid and then the paper that was covering the precious object within it. She held up the two handled cup, golden in color and handed it to Voldemort. "Well?"

"Hufflepuff," Voldemort breathed and the witch clapped her hands together with a nod. "Yes, that's exactly right you dreadfully smart boy. I'm a distant, but direct descendent of Helga Hufflepuff," she said proudly. "Isn't it beautiful? Charmed of course with some very powerful magic. I haven't actually tested them all though." She held her hand out and Voldemort slowly handed her back the cup. "You can understand why I wish to keep this from everyone," she said placing it back into its box. "The usual place Hokey."

"Right away mistress!" The elf said running off with the box.

"Yes, I understand completely." Voldemort said pleasantly, but Harry knew that look all too well from Tom. It was one that said 'Oh I understand, but I don't care and I'll be getting my way soon enough.' It was unnerving how similar the two were at the moment, but perhaps that could be used to their advantage. Being able to read Tom might make it easier to read Voldemort...'If that thing can still use facial expression,' Harry thought to himself wearily. Knowing the way his luck tended to fall the snake like creature probably couldn't, he had seen him smile though and glare, but chances are that was the extent of what that thing could do.

"And this one-"

"Slytherin," Voldemort said snatching the necklace out of the woman's hand. While this should have alarmed her, it didn't. Instead she started giggling again while Voldemort's eyes examined every inch of the necklace refusing to let it out of his sight.

"That has the same marking on it as the ring," Tom said turning to Dumbledore. Harry wasn't sure what ring the two were talking about, but Dumbledore nodded. "Oh! Right. This is that woman who was well known in our days for all her collections and crazy spending on things. She was considered nuts by most of the students, we always saw her during our trips to Diagon Alley going from shop to shop seeing if she could find anything she wanted to add to it."

"She was not nuts Tom, merely old and enjoying her hobby."

"Well...how did you like that little show of my treasures?" She handed the other box with the necklace in it to her house elf that ran off to put it away.

"Yes, that was something I enjoyed very much." Voldemort's eyes for a moment looked like they turned red, which caused Harry to grab Tom's wrist. Red eyes were his boyfriend's single difference between this memory. He didn't need to see them as exact copies. The woman seemed to notice it too, because she looked taken aback for a moment, but just shook her head and smiled.

'It's the normal eye colored one you need to watch out for,' Harry said to himself. The thought got a snicker from Tom, but that was it. Voldemort and Miss. Hepzibah talked some more, the treasures taken back to their secret and protected location. At this point the memory started to get fuzzy.

"And it is now time for us to leave," Dumbledore said quietly. When they were back in the office all three of them took their seats as usual, the two students waiting for their headmaster to talk. He seemed to be thinking about what to say, because he kept looking at Tom and Harry for a few moments before he finally said a word. "Miss. Hepzibah died two days later. Hokey the house-elf was blamed for it."

"You can't be serious!" Harry shouted angrily. He knew exactly how loyal a house-elf was. Unless Miss. Hepizbah had been foolish enough to release the elf, nothing of the sort should have happened to the old woman, at least not by the elf's hands.

"Yes, I was surprised myself," Dumbledore smiled. "There were just too many questions and the scene looked surprisingly similar to another one..."

"My grandparents," Tom said coldly.

"Did she confess?" Harry asked frowning. He was hoping to keep the topic going without Tom going into one of his fits, not that he blamed his boyfriend. Voldemort had killed his parents, he could definitely understand the anger Tom felt towards the snake creature for having his grandparents taken from him whether he knew them or not.

"The poor house-elf remembered putting something into the madam's cocoa, which was supposed to be sugar, but turned out to be a lethal dose of poison," the headmaster said shaking his head slowly. "By the time I was able to find Hokey the only thing I could do for her was remove this memory...she died shortly after in Azkaban before I could try and get her freed."

"So he got those two items, right?" Tom asked slowly and Dumbledore nodded. "But we have the ring...so we actually stole something from him," the heir said a smile crossing his face.

"Well, in a way yes," Dumbledore said returning the smile. "If you remember however, I did not have to kill anyone for it."

"Details," Tom snickered and Harry hit him on the arm.

"We aren't killing people for artifacts."

"I wasn't laughing at that," the heir scolded rubbing his arm.

"Let us get back on task," the headmaster interrupted. "You see, with those two items taken and the memory of Hokey modified, Voldemort was able to vanish from the world without a trail. He quit his job, ran from his home and was not heard of for years."

"No one thought this was odd?" Harry asked curiously. Even in the muggle world if someone went missing for a few days to a week there was usually a report of it to the police force.

"Actually, no one was aware that he'd done more than quit his job until our officials went looking for him. You see, Miss. Hepzibah's family found out weeks later that her two prized possessions were missing and that Voldemort had been in her house a mere two days before the murder. Many of them wanted to see Voldemort put on trial, but there was never any proof and with Hokey's confession the ministry didn't even look into the matter."

"What rubbish," Harry said getting annoyed. If the ministry had captured Voldemort at such a young age a lot of horrible things could have been avoided. So many deaths prevented...

'He would have had friends in the ministry anyway who would have gotten him out. It's probably what stopped them from even bothering to look for him in the first place,' Tom reminded him mentally.

Harry nodded grudgingly at that. Chances are his boyfriend was right, as he usual was, but that didn't make any of this less frustrating. To think that Voldemort was going around doing so much damage and yet no one was stopping him and even now they were still dealing with the craziness of it all. It'd taken years to get the ministry to even fully agree that Voldemort had returned. Why were these wizards so foolish?

"Well, there is one more memory I wish to share with the two of you, but I'm afraid until after I get the full memory from Slughorn we'll have to wait for the others."

"Because my confession means nothing," Tom spat.

"Because I wish to see the memory with my own eyes," Dumbledore corrected.

"And mine isn't good enough?" The heir asked angrily.

"Tom, you would taint your own thoughts to the darkest of depths if you thought it would inconvenience Professor Slughorn," the headmaster smiled. "Now on to our next memory if you would. This is two years after Miss. Hepzibah had much her unfortunate end."

And so it was back into the pensive for one last memory. Harry made a mental note to go after Slughorn the next day, but for now to deal with the next memory. Hopefully it wouldn't have anything to do with Tom's family. His boyfriend was still having the random nightmare from those encounters, so when they appeared in Dumbledore's office it was quite the relief.

Sitting in front of the trio was a much younger looking Dumbledore who was looking over a long piece of parchment. Fwakes gave a small squawking noise. Harry realized the phoenix was in its infant stage.

"Now, now little one, you have already been fed," the young Dumbledore said placing the parchment down on his desk. "Don't bite me," the headmaster laughed. The baby phoenix had jumped onto Dumbledore's shoulder and was tugging on his ear. "Alright, alright, you've defeated me. I shall give in to your wishes," he said with a sigh. "If you get fat I will not take responsibility." He stood up walking over to his cabinet and removed a small pouch that Harry knew from previous encounters was full of bird food when a knock sounded at the door. "One moment." The headmaster set Fwakes back onto his perch and placed a small handful of food in his bowl. "Now stay quiet while I talk," he warned the bird. Despite his tone he was smiling and stroking the bird's neck. "Come in then." He moved back to his chair just as the door open and in stepped Voldemort.

"Well now we look different," Tom said smugly. Different was a bit of an understatement. Voldemort was halfway through his transformation of becoming the hideous snake creature Harry knew he would soon be. His eyes, though not slits, had lost their whiteness to being bloodshot, though the effect seemed to be permanent. The skin was so pale Harry thought for a moment he'd been a ghost walking in, and his face was so sunk in, well, it'd have been easier to suggest that this thing standing in front of them was an Inferi rather than a human.

"Quite," Harry agreed quietly. "Glad you don't like snakes that much," the Gryffindor added.

"And give up my good looks? Hardly," Tom snorted.

"Good evening Tom," the younger Dumbledore said. "Won't you sit down? I have a drink here if you'd like one."

"That would be nice," Voldemort agreed. His voice seemed different from the last memory. Harry hadn't given that much thought. He'd always known Voldemort and Tom looked different, but he had never really listened to their voices that closely, he did his best to ignore Voldemort after all. It was a good thing to know though, because he knew Voldemort wouldn't be able to trick him by pretending to be Tom. The young headmaster had been pouring Voldemort a drink by the time Harry stopped dwelling over the voice change.

"So you have returned to Hogwarts to ask me something I'm sure," the younger headmaster said. "What exactly was it you wished to speak to me about Tom?"

"I gave that name up some time ago," Voldemort said.

"Alas, an old teacher never learns to change with the times. For me, you will always be Tom," the headmaster said pleasantly. "Truthfully I think it is a strong, good name-"

"I did not come here to talk about my name," Voldemort said somewhat coldly. "You know why I am here I take it."

"I have my guesses," the headmaster smiled. "But it is never wise to force ones guesses on another, so tell me Tom. Why have you returned here after so many years?" Fwakes seemed to decide it was time to ignore Dumbledore's earlier warning and jumped onto his shoulder. "You should be asleep little one," he scolded, but the phoenix just chirped at him and closed his eyes. "I apologize, it seems my bird has forgotten how to use his manners, despite how old he really is."

"I'm here for a teaching position," Voldemort said and Harry could tell he was doing his best to hold himself back. It seemed that he was getting annoyed that Dumbledore was paying more attention to Fwakes then to him. "I waited, perhaps longer than everyone thought I should, but I spent my time learning and experimenting. There are so many things I could teach the students of this school, things no one else could possibly even think of..."

"I have heard of your deeds Tom," Dumbledore said quietly. "And I pray that not even half of them are true, but I fear they might just be." His eyes were looking directly into Voldemort's at this point and it actually made the snake creature look away.

"Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this Dumbledore," Voldemort said evenly.

"If those rumors happen to be true and you are foolish enough to believe that is greatness-"

"How could it be anything, but?" Voldemort demanded. "I have pushed magic past boundaries that have never even been thought of to cross, have done things that no other wizard has ever imagined-"

"And yet there are others you have ignored so completely that you could not be considered a full wizard," the headmaster said simply. This brought a complete look of rage onto Voldemort, but he stayed in his chair, a glare plastered onto his face.

"I have yet to see how love could possibly be considered a magic, let alone do me any good."

"And it is for that very reason that I could not possibly allow you to reenter this school and teach my students. Love is more important than I'm afraid you will ever realize."

"I find that amusing. Aderes was it? I did not see your love for my little brother saving him when he needed it most." That sent the headmaster glaring and even Fwakes let out a loud screech at that, but Dumbledore was as composed as ever. He took a sip from his goblet, set it down and seemed to let all the anger flow out of his body.

"Tom, let us be frank here, since you show no signs of getting to the topic at hand any time soon. Aderes was saved by a love so strong it would devour you should it ever be released. I am sorry you cannot understand that. Had I known there were two of you, perhaps I would have taken you both in and yet it seemed that you were already as you were far before I could have ever hoped to take either of you in."

"Do not insult me-"

"Then tell me why you are here asking for a job you obviously don't want, surrounding my school with your group of death eaters." The words seem to hit something in Voldemort, because for once he looked taken aback. "Yes, I am aware of what goes on around this school...and you." The headmaster added the last part sadly it seemed. "I truly wish there was something I could have done for you Tom."

"I am not a little kid," Voldemort growled getting to his feet nearly knocking the chair over in his rush. "Will you give me the position or not?"

"Of course I won't," Dumbledore said calmly. "Why on earth would I ever do that?"

"That is your final decision?"

"It is."

"It's funny how I haven't seen Adrese since that little accident."

"You can't see him?" The headmaster asked raising an eyebrow. "It merely shows how much you lack."

It looked to Harry like Voldemort was going to attack at that point, but instead he merely glowered and stormed out of the room.

"And that would be the end," the present day Dumbledore said taking both students by the arm. Harry was sure that the younger Dumbledore was saying something, but he couldn't make it out and before he could try they were standing once more in the office.

"He would have freaked out more if I could have removed myself from the necklace," Tom sneered. "I'm glad I got the name though instead of him."

"Well, it would seem he has no use for it anyway," Dumbledore said moving to sit down at his desk. "And you have definitely earned it." He was staring at Harry now more than his boyfriend, but the Gryffindor understood what he meant. Tom was much more human than Voldemort had ever been. Harry really believed that had more to do with Dumbledore than himself though. The headmaster having raised Tom from a young age certainly had to have made a difference.

"So what position did he want?" Harry found himself asking. He wasn't quite ready to pry into Tom's childhood.

"Oh, it was Defense Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore assured him. "We have never been able to keep a teacher in that position for more than a year since I turned him down for it."

"Oh," Harry muttered unsure of where to go from there. He had so many questions, but where to start at? Had Dumbledore really been the one behind the necklace? "Sir?" Harry asked before the onslaught of more thoughts removed this one from his mind.

"Yes Harry?"

"You said Tom had been saved by a strong love, but no one was even in the room with him. Did you make those necklaces?"

"No, I did not make them," Dumbledore said smiling. "Nor did I charm them, however...someone did charm those particular necklaces, each for a certain task. It was sheer luck they happened to be there when Tom needed them most."

"So how did love play into it?"

"Do you have the necklace with you?"

"Of course," Harry said pulling it out from underneath his shirt and placing it on the desk. The headmaster took it and examined it for a moment.

"There are times when love can be most difficult and without the proper guidance could never hope to flourish. Do you see the two symbols?" the headmaster asked. That was a stupid question, of course Harry could see them.

"Yes, it's a moon and a star." It was impossible to not notice the two symbols.

"Yes, and while the stars are always present, the moon is not," Dumbledore explained. "You see Harry, when things are altered such as time, like when you saved Sirius from dying, the world is forced to alter its way as well. Remus would have had a much different life if Sirius had not survived, if he had died either time."

"But that's a good thing right?" Harry asked quickly.

"Oh yes, I see nothing wrong with two people finding love. My point is Harry, that when the world has to alter the destiny it originally had in place, the new one does not always flow perfectly...How to put this. If Sirius had died, Remus would have found a new lover eventually I am sure."

"Alright..."

"However Sirius survived so the only thing destiny had to change for that was to extend their relationship. Now I made the decision to go back in time and adopt Tom, thinking it was Voldemort, and hoping to right a ton of wrongs. If I could get Voldemort to understand how important love was then I truly believe he would not be as he is now."

"That makes sense," Harry agreed.

"However, destiny seems to believe that Voldemort was a necessity in our world. It created two versions of the same boy in order to stop me. Still, that didn't mean I could not raise one at least to see how important love was. There was a problem with that however."

"Which was?" Harry looked from Dumbledore to Tom waiting for an answer.

"I couldn't stand half the people I was around," Tom said. "I enjoyed manipulating people, I guess not to the extent of Voldemort, but close enough. I never really cared about anyone, but..."

"Dumbledore?" Harry asked and Tom gave a swift nod his face turning red. "So...you couldn't understand love beyond a child and parent...because you hated those around you?"

"I didn't hate them," Tom muttered.

"You merely believed you were better than everyone else, besides Voldemort," Dumbledore said, Tom remaining silent. "So what then could destiny do? There was no way two Voldemorts could be in the same reality. I realized that soon after I enrolled Tom into Hogwarts. My hope had been that Voldemort would come around seeing how happy his brother was and give up his ways. Rather, he tried to turn Tom to his side, but no matter how deep Tom got, he somehow always got out of it."

"So the necklace was actually destiny's way of getting Tom to not become a dark lord?" Harry asked in shock.

(TBC)

Okay, so that's the end of this chapter...onto chapter 47.


	47. Moving on with Destiny

I always find it strange that I can walk away from a fanfic for weeks, months, even years and then come back to it when the time seems right and have complete control over it again.

Warnings: It's shonen ai, slash, gay guys, whatever you want to call it.

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 47: Moving on with Destiny

"That was the conclusion I came to," Dumbledore admitted. "This necklace sealed Tom off from the world until he was at a time when he could find someone who he could trust. Shockingly enough Harry that turned out to be you."

"How did the necklace even know that?" Harry asked staring at it in awe. To think that a simple necklace could have so much control over the events of the world was not only amazing, it was scary.

"I'm not sure. You see often times I found myself wearing the necklace just in case. I had thought that Voldemort had locked Tom's soul within it and was constantly thinking of ways to get him out. As you can see, I never succeeded. Imagine my shock when you came into the school and were sorted Harry and the necklace for the first time in years had shown signs of life..."

"That's why you were staring at me like I'd gone mad," Harry said. He had never understood or forgotten the look Dumbledore had given him when his name was called and he was first sorted. The headmaster had looked like he'd been hit with something or someone had forgotten to tell him Harry was coming that year.

"Yes...I could not get through that opening ceremony quickly enough," the headmaster admitted. "To my dismay the necklace did nothing, but glow. Tom's consciousness had not even awakened at that point. I believe there was a burst of energy during your second year...and after your visit at the end of your second year throwing the diary on the table the necklace suddenly started asking me questions. By the time summer rolled around Tom was completely aware of what had happened, but we still had no way of knowing how to get him out."

"How did you get out?" Harry asked looking to his boyfriend. Tom hadn't been saying much since they'd started this conversation.

"When your godfather was going to be caught and murdered and the time turner was used...I found myself in Dumbledore's office."

"I had left the necklace there while tending to Ron in the infirmary while you and Hermione ran off to save Sirius. When I came back...Tom was lying on the floor looking quite worse for wear, but alive."

"And then he did something so horribly wrong that my entire fourth year had to be wiped out from my head," Harry said glaring at his boyfriend. To think that he'd been released for less than three months and somehow within that time and the rest of his fourth year had done something so wrong everyone's memories had to be modified.

"It's not that simple," Dumbledore said when he saw Tom flinch. "I think that's enough for now however...We wouldn't want Tom to have any more nightmares."

It was then that Harry caught a fleeting glimpse of a thought from his boyfriend that he had never before encountered. It had only lasted a few seconds, but it had been there and he had seen part of it at the least. Frowning he nodded to the headmaster and stood up.

"Right, we'll leave then," Harry said quietly. "We'll let you know immediately when we get the memory from Slughorn," he promised.

"That would be wonderful." The headmaster led them to the door and opened it. He gave Harry the necklace, a smile on his face. "Take good care of that Harry. It is quite precious."

"I know," Harry said putting it back on. They said their good nights then and off the two students went. Halfway back to the tower was when Harry finally decided he should corner his boyfriend about the thought that had gone through his mind when he'd been talking to Dumbledore. He stopped, out of hearing distance from the portrait of the fat woman and grabbed Tom's hand. "I saw what you've been trying to hide from me," Harry said seriously. There was no point in trying to beat around the bush, not with their bonds fully open. If Tom hadn't been so distracted about the necklace, he probably would have noticed right away that Harry had seen the thought, but since he hadn't, he looked quite shaken at Harry's declaration.

"..." The heir looked at him, but his mouth remained closed. Even his thoughts seemed to have gone blank.

"Why didn't you just tell me you can't remember our fourth year either?" Harry pressed. Things made a lot more sense now with this small bit of information. Tom wasn't hiding his fourth year from him, he didn't know anything more than Harry did. His memory had been altered too.

"I remember things you don't," Tom started trying to work through his thoughts. "Like the ice cream and meeting Draco...and other things that happened during the Quidditch game. My existence in your memory was completely wiped out, but I remember being there. I remember going to school and doing some things..."

"But your memory of our interactions is actually really limited isn't it?"

"For Dumbledore to have altered my memory and so many others, whatever I did had to be so horrible...for you not to even remember who I was...whatever I did to you..."

"You don't even know if it was you," Harry pointed. "Just, because our memories are different doesn't mean you're the cause of it."

"Dumbledore told me I was," he said with a laugh. "I have no idea why or what I could have possibly done. I realize I wasn't the most well behaved of people...but what could I have done to make him want to alter everyone's memories for that year?"

"It's probably not half as bad as we're thinking it is," Harry said wrapping his arm around his boyfriend's waist. "I feel like I can trust you more now though. You aren't actually hiding a bunch of things from me, you just don't know. We have some memories just from different perspectives." The heir blinked a few times and nodded. "So let's not worry about it anymore. Whatever you did, it wasn't bad enough to make him lock you up and if it had been really bad, you would have remembered so you would have learned your lesson."

"I guess so," Tom said looking somewhat relieved. Harry could feel the mental burden that had been on his boyfriend lift and the two went back to the tower. All the things he had found out today had been pretty overwhelming and yet it all fit together so smoothly that Harry felt like he'd known it on some level of consciousness from the start. That wasn't really hard to believe either, because even if his memories were altered, somewhere in his mind the truth was there.

(X)

A week had gone by, Harry and Tom's relationship at an all-time high. Harry couldn't remember it ever going so well between the two of them. That being said figuring out a way to get the memory out of Slughorn should have been easy, but the more they plotted, the harder it seemed to be. Tom had suggested threatening the teacher, but Harry doubted that would work. If it would, Dumbledore would have gotten the memory years ago. With no plans in sight, the whole task was further shoved out of their mind when they came back to the tower after a D.A. meeting and saw the notice for the Apparation test that April.

Truthfully, Harry could care less about Apparating. It was uncomfortable and he much rather preferred a broom stick. Ron on the other hand was having a nervous breakdown as he was the only one in their group to have not managed to do it yet. Tom had fast become a pro after his private lessons with Dumbledore and he had eagerly shown Hermione, who of course picked it up without any problems. He'd tried to teach Draco, Ron, and Harry as well. Draco seemed to have understood more than Harry and Ron did, but not by much and Ron was just a lost cause. Harry had a feeling his lack of enthusiasm was the real reason he wasn't doing so well, it wasn't like he could even take the test this year anyway.

So avoiding the topic of the test to keep Ron in a civilized mood, they had sat around in the common room near the fire place finishing up any last bits of homework they had left over. Harry had managed to turn his essay for Snape on fighting dementors into nothing more than a persuasive essay on why Snape was a fool. If there was one thing Harry could do it was get rid of dementors and he disagreed completely with every single thing the professor had said on the subject.

"Ignore it and run off to eat chocolate afterward," Harry had scoffed. "Or avoid thinking any dark thoughts in the first place to attract them. If only it were that easy!" This was how his essay had started and it had gotten progressively worse with more insults and disagreements as it went on. Tom was too amused by it in the end to change a thing and said if he got a bad grade for once it was okay. Everyone else had finished their essays too, well except Ron, who seemed to be getting back into the habit of ignoring his homework until the very last minute again. "Any ideas on getting that memory?" Harry asked. He didn't really want to bring the subject up. Tom and him were resting next to the fireplace, Tom's back against a chair as he stroked Harry's hair, whose head was in his lap. He knew however that if he didn't bring it back up soon that they would once again forget to retrieve the memory and Dumbledore would no doubt be setting them on fire.

It wasn't just Dumbledore's need for them to get the memory however that made Harry want to get it. It was the fact that they wouldn't be seeing any more memories until they did. Dumbledore had hinted at lunch a few days before that if they retrieved it maybe they'd get to see a bit more of their fourth year or perhaps something that had happened even before that. How could Harry possible pass up an opportunity like that?

"Not really," Tom said. He sounded bored.

"We need to do it even if you already know what happened. He took your memory right?"

"Yeah," Tom sighed. "He wants Slughorn's too though to see it both ways to make sure I didn't alter mine. It's not something to put pass me, but I really wouldn't sink so low where Slughorn's concerned. I have enough dirt on him in general without having to fake this memory."

What the memory actually was, Harry didn't know. Tom nor Dumbledore had not been kind enough to explain to him what the memory was about, not that he hadn't asked. Dumbledore had quickly moved on to a completely different topic and Tom had flat out told him no.

"Well, we need to get it then. The more evidence-"

"This isn't some crime case. We could have Voldemort in front of the ministry of magic telling everyone he did everything he has and they still wouldn't convict him," Tom sneered.

Harry thought about that for a moment, couldn't help, but snicker and dropped the subject. It seemed retrieving the memory was going to be left up to him. Harry found himself quite alright with this little turn of events, seeing this as a good way to prove to Tom that he was capable of getting things done without the heir's help. The question was however, just what exactly should be done in order to get the memory? Trick Slughorn yes, but how to do that would be tricky. Sure the Gryffindor was someone Slughorn was constantly pestering to have tea with, but that in the end, Tom was a much better manipulator than he'd ever been.

"You're good at getting what you want," Harry said looking up at his boyfriend. "What's the secret?"

"Secret?" Tom asked tilting his head to the side. "There's no secret. I'm merely good at what I do." When he saw the glare Harry was giving him he laughed. "Alright, I make sure I know what others want and I mean really want. You have to make sure what you have is something they can't get on their own, or it's a huge hassle for them to get by themselves. Then you blackmail them," Tom said simply.

"That does sound how you work," Harry muttered. The problem was then, how to find something to black mail Slughorn with. The professor definitely had his weak spot for sweets and other 'fine living' items, but was he actually having any problems locating one?

"Use information," Tom yawned his hand back in Harry's hair tugging on it. "I know enough to get him sent to azkaban, I'll tell you what I know, you go and get the memory. I really don't feel like dealing with him. I see him enough during potion lessons."

"Alright," Harry agreed. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to use any of the information Tom would give him, but at least he'd have it just in case. It never hurt to have back up plans.

(X)

Morning came around and Harry actually woke up before Tom. He poked him in the arm and upon getting no response climbed on top of him and grabbed the front of his shirt jerking him up.

"Get up, we have class later," he said loudly getting a very startled look from the heir. Grinning that he'd actually managed to scare his boyfriend for once he let go of the heir's shirt and let him drop back onto the bed. "I had to do something," he snickered.

"I'm going to do something," Tom said a scowl on his face. He pulled Harry down and forced him into a deep kiss, Harry of course giving in without a second thought. When they finally broke for air, Tom sat up yawning. "Was there a reason you needed me awake so early? We don't even have a class this morning."

"No, I just wanted you awake," Harry admitted. It was a strange feeling that overcame the Gryffindor from time to time and he rarely ignored it. Every now and then he just had to be near his boyfriend and talking to him. He had a feeling it was related to Tom's vanishing during the summer the previous year. "It's nice to be around you."

"I'm always around you," Tom pointed out, but he didn't sound mad. Instead he pulled Harry back down, his arms around him. "It's not even time for breakfast and you know I need sleep sometimes."

"We went to bed early," Harry pouted. The heir rolled his eyes at him and Harry started laughing again. "I'm sorry, just sometimes I feel like I'm going to walk in here or wake up and you won't be in bed."

"I do use the toilet sometimes too," Tom said bluntly and Harry had to hit him.

"You know what I mean."

"So now you have abandonment issues," the Slytherin tutted. "I never would have guessed, despite all the signs you've shown of it over the year," he said and Harry had the feeling, or rather the bond was showing him, that Tom was getting annoyed with him for it.

"You love spending time together," Harry glared at him. "How can you get mad at me for wanting to do that more?"

"I'm not mad, I just wish you'd let me sleep."

"Fine, go to sleep," Harry snapped. He went to climb off the bed, but the heir jerked him back down with surprising strength. Harry hadn't felt that helpless since his boyfriend had been in a shadow form.

"Do not tempt me so early in the morning," he warned him his eyes flashing. "I love you, you know this, but you are so annoying sometimes." He kissed Harry again and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I just want a few more hours of sleep. Is that such a bad thing?"

"It's not," Harry said his face red. He was being rather childish he supposed. "I just feel like bothering you today."

"Then do it when I'm awake."

"You are awake." There was a long moment of silence when Harry was sure the heir was going to kill him, but instead his thoughts seemed to go fuzzy. Harry had to turn over, the heir still holding him tightly, and he saw that Tom had in fact gone back to sleep. _What was he doing last night?_ Harry wondered. The heir always seemed to be awake and ready to move once the sun was up. Harry hadn't felt Tom get out of bed the night before, nor had he felt any strong emotions through the bond._ Maybe he was talking with Draco. _It was the only thing Harry could think of. Deciding it didn't quite matter he rested against his boyfriend's chest happily and closed his eyes. They could eat breakfast a bit late and rush to class after Tom woke up.

(X)

Tom of course actually ended up sleeping in and since Harry had ended up dozing off too, the both of them were running like mad men to get to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class as quickly as possible. They were already five minutes past the start time, Snape was going to kill them without a doubt, but on the plus side maybe they'd learn something in class worthwhile that day.

"You're late," Snape growled when the two of them finally made it to the room. Everyone else was looking at them, Hermione looked enraged, but all Harry could do was mouth the words "Sorry". It wasn't like they had a good reason for being late. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"Why not Slytherin?" Harry asked. Tom of course looked appalled at that, but Harry ignored him. 'If you hadn't slept in so late we wouldn't be in this mess!'

'You're so forgiving,' The heir growled.

"Because this is the first time Aderes here has been late," Snape said a cold smile forming on his face. "Let us see that it does not happen again, Mr. Dumbledore."

"Don't abuse my last name," Tom snapped, but the damage had been done. Everyone in the classroom was now staring at Tom in disbelief. The heir had long ago decided not to have his adoption go public, he didn't see the point of it, but now that everyone in the classroom knew, there was a good chance the whole school would know by dinner time.

"Do not speak back to your teacher. You should do well to not soil such a last name as yours," Snape warned him.

Tom gave Snape the coldest glare Harry had ever seen from his boyfriend and stomped off towards the back row, another first for Tom who was usually up front to make sure he heard everything. Harry followed closely after him and took a seat, Ron and Draco in the desk next to them.

"Thanks for trying to get points off Slytherin," Draco snorted at the Gryffindor.

"Why didn't you or Ron wake us up?" Harry whispered hotly. The least their friends could have done was attempt to wake them up so something like this wouldn't have happened.

"We woke up a good hour or so before you. Went to the library after breakfast to finish up my report...thought you guys could wake yourselves up," Ron said quietly. Harry wanted to yell at his friend, but realized there was no point. It was Tom and his fault for sleeping in so late and for not setting his alarm clock to make sure they'd make it to class on time.

"It was my fault," Tom said then. "I shouldn't have stayed up so late."

"What were you eve-"

"I see Mr. Potter and Mr. Dumbledore up there have some information they'd like to share? Perhaps Potter can tell us the difference between a ghost and a Inferius? I would ask Mr. Dumbledore, but I'm sure he already knows the answer-"

"Stop calling me that!" Tom screamed jerking up out of his chair, said chair flipping onto the floor. "You have no right!"

"That is your last name!" Snape roared walking towards Tom. Harry grabbed the heir's arm standing up and got in between him and Snape.

"Professor, will you please stop?" Harry asked fighting back every ounce of hatred he had for this teacher at the moment. "We're late and I'm sorry, it was my fault, just like you said. He's in a bad mood, because I ruined his perfect attendance."

"He-"

"I see," Snape sneered looking the couple over. "Sit down, both of you," he ordered walking back towards the front of the room. "Your answer Potter!" Snape screamed when he was back in front. Harry jumped slightly, had to think a minute as to what Snape was even asking him and then nodded.

"Right...Inferius are walking corpses while ghost are...beings with a consciousness."

Snape snorted and looked away from them seeming to accept the answer.

"Turn to page two hundred and thirteen and read the first two paragraphs on the Cruciatus Curse," Snape ordered them. When Harry was sure Snape wasn't paying them any attention he turned to his boyfriend frowning.

"What's gotten into you?" he whispered harshly. "You could have gotten us both detention."

'I don't need you to get in the way like that,' Tom snapped. 'I could have taken care of it myself. You shouldn't have lied.'

'He's always in a better moon when I'm not,' Harry replied looking down at his book so he could pretend to read. 'Seriously, though, what was that about? Are you against using Dumbledore's name?'

'It has nothing to do with that,' the heir said dropping the book onto the table. It seemed that he'd already finished. 'Snape just tries to piss me off every chance he gets and not being able to sleep well last night didn't help.'

Harry wanted to ask why his boyfriend wasn't sleeping well, but Snape started to call on people and ask questions about the two paragraphs they'd just read and Harry hadn't even started reading yet.

(X)

It was finally time for the hogsmeade trip. Harry really didn't see the point in his going, he couldn't test until the middle of the summer anyway, but Tom had nearly dragged him to the door that morning looking quite pleased with himself.

"Someone's in a better mood," Harry said kissing his boyfriend on the cheek as they stood in line. Hermione, Ron, and Draco showed up a few moments later looking just as happy.

"I got a good night's rest and I'm ready to take on these practice sessions," the heir said with a smirk. Harry rolled his eyes at him, but was glad that he was no longer snapping at everything that moved. He'd really felt uneasy in Snape's class the day before, but at least now they would be getting away from all the teachers and the castle if only for a little bit.

"Well that's good. I didn't know you were having trouble sleeping." Before Harry could say anything else Filch stabbed him in the side with his magical sensor causing him to yelp. Tom shoved the squib away instantly just daring the creature to come near them and they walked into the sunlight. Their friends followed close after and soon all five of them were talking about the practice session and what they would do afterwards.

"We should get lunch," Tom decided for them when they had entered hogsmeade.

"That sounds like a good idea," Hermione agreed. "Where should we go?"

"The three broomsticks?" He asked and the others agreed.

The practice itself went alright, Harry managed to get very close to his spot, and both Tom and Hermione of course were perfect. They both managed to get exactly where they were supposed to go every time. Draco did pretty well himself and while Ron didn't end up where he was supposed to, he at least managed to apperate for his first time.

"To celebrate!" Ron screamed holding his mug of butterbeer up. The other four agreed clanking their own mugs against Ron's and the five drunk from them happily. The atmosphere of the three broomsticks was wonderfully cheery and made their celebration that much better. Ron started telling jokes halfway through, none of them actually funny, but Draco managed a laugh here and there, no doubt at how bad Ron's joke telling ability was rather than the jokes themselves. Hermione was talking to Tom about how easy apparating had gotten since he'd shown her those tricks a few weeks back and Harry was just trying to keep up with it all.

Despite the fact he didn't really care for apparating, he was somewhat jealous that he wouldn't be able to take his test right away. Everyone else he knew was coming of age before him and was being able to do things that he couldn't, it was enough to drive anyone mad. Even so, there was nothing he could do about it, but wait. Wait until he was old enough to take the test and be of age so he could perform the magic he wanted to without the ministry coming after him. Granted, Draco was older than him by a few months, he still wasn't old enough to take the test either so at least he wasn't completely alone.

"There's one of my favorite people!" Came a really happy voice. "I knew I'd find you."

"Tonks?" Harry asked and laughed when she hugged him. Her hair was a bright green and she was grinning from ear to ear.

"How yeah been Harry? I haven't seen you in a while," she said taking a seat beside him. The others hadn't seemed to notice yet that Tonks was even in the room.

"Yeah, we've been busy. You know...I haven't heard from Sirius or Remus lately. Are they okay?" Tonks' mood instantly dropped and she suddenly removed herself from the table. "Tonks?"

"Just stopped by to get some butterbeer, that's all. That was some good apparating, I'm sure you'll pass your test," she said quickly and was off.

Harry felt like he'd been ditched somehow and decided the first thing he was going to do when he got back to Hogwarts was write a letter to his godfather. If anything was wrong, he'd tell him. He was tempted to follow after Tonks when he saw her walk out the door, but all his thoughts of that vanished when he was shoved out of his seat without warning and found himself on the floor in shock.

"Is it true that Albus Dumbledore adopted you?" A witch with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes asked. The happiness of their table died as quickly as Tonks' had.

"I heard your family had to pay him off to do it!" Came a Wizard's reply, his hand holding a quill, the other a piece of parchment.

"What exactly made the headmaster of the school take you in?" Yet another yelled.

Tom looked like he'd been thrown into a fire pit. Harry knew he had no choice, but to get off the floor and take action. He returned the favor by shoving the witch who'd pushed him out of his own seat out of the way and took Tom by the hand.

"Let's get out of here," he said. The others nodding.

"Aderes Dumbledore! I heard you were actually Dumbledore's biological son and he abandoned you as a child and to make up for it without ruining his reputation, adopted you!"

"Where are they getting this rubbish?" Tom asked blinking.

"That's a good question," Hermione frowned. "That last one seems a bit out there even for a reporter..."

"Is it true that Harry Potter is dating you just, because Dumbledore adopted you?"

"I don't know is it?" Tom asked staring at Harry.

"Yeah, sorry. Forgot to mention that since we started dating before you got adopted. Didn't think it really mattered since I didn't know it was coming," Harry said rolling his eyes. "These people are mad." Ignoring the reporters farther, the five managed to get out of the three broom sticks, only to be followed out onto the street.

"We're going to have to run," Tom frowned.

"If you guys want to stay go ahead, we'll be heading back to Hogwarts."

"We can all go," Draco said. "It's not like we want to get harassed by these people either."

They knew once they went beyond the gates of Hogwarts the reporters would be unable to touch them. When they finally made it there, a bunch of reporters kept trying to get to them, but luckily they failed to get onto the grounds.

"That was insane," Tom said shaking his head. "I should find Snape and kill him. This was bad enough the first time."

"I don't know, I might have to do it first," Harry said with a scowl. He hated it enough when reporters came after him and now they were going after his boyfriend too? It was nuts, but at least he wasn't the cause for the reporter commotion for once. "Wait, the first time?" Harry asked staring at his boyfriend.

"Not being adopted, just when the reporters found out I was Dumbledore's adopted son. I was followed around like crazy for weeks."

"Well, we have something else in common then," Harry said grimly as they made their way back towards the castle.

(TBC)

Okay...done again.


	48. An Unsettling Matter

Chapter 47 it is. I'm glad to have made it this far. Anyway, now that I managed to clean up the fine mess Tom threw himself in let's move on. Oh, Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump

Warnings: It's shonen ai, slash, gay, get over it.

Chapter, 48: An Unsettling Matter

"What do I do now?" Tom growled throwing the daily prophet onto the table. They were in the common room eating breakfast, where things had been going fine until the owls had come in with the morning paper. Harry didn't need to ask what his boyfriend was talking about, on the front over of the daily prophet read the title "Aderes Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore's child or Harry Potter's tag along?" In bright gold letters. Under the title were three pictures, one of Dumbledore smiling, Tom glaring, and Harry who seemed rather out of it, which he recognized was him from the three broom sticks the other day after he'd been shoved onto the floor.

"Wow, you're famous, it's a two page story," Hermione said attempting at some humor, but it only made Tom groan louder.

"I can't believe they printed anything without actually getting an interview," Harry said in disbelief. "They don't even have anything to go on. It's all rubbish," he said scanning the article. It read about as believable as a story about a gorilla giving birth to an alien that could shoot acid out of its eyes, but if there was one thing Harry knew about rumors it was the fact that no one at Hogwarts cared if they were true or not, they just wanted to gossip.

"Maybe someone else talked while we were at hogsmeade?" Draco suggested.

"No one knows anything, but us," Tom said, but his face fell as he realized what Draco meant. Just, because they were the only ones who knew the truth didn't mean someone hadn't lied and talked to the newspaper about them.

"Well, at least they didn't say he was sleeping with you," Harry tried to reassure him. "In the muggl-"

"I don't care about the muggle world! I care about my world and now I'm going to be followed around everywhere I go. This is exactly why I didn't want his last name in the first place," Tom groaned sliding down in his seat. "We purposely went out of our way during my fourth year so no one would notice I came to the Quidditch game with him. My existence already had to be wiped out of everyone's minds once thanks to the necklace, better to keep low in case it happens again."

"This is probably the only day they'll publish it. It'll be out of everyone's system in a week or so," Harry said. "None of this is true anyway and let's hope your existence isn't forced to be wiped out of everyone's minds every two years." Despite how crazy that sounded, Harry knew his boyfriend all too well and hoped this would not be the case.

"Do you really think that matters? People don't care if it's true or not," Tom said wearily.

"Other people don't matter," Harry grinned at him. "I'm sure Dumbledore is in his office laughing at this." He grabbed the heir's hand and held it tightly. He doubted the headmaster would get mad over something like this, rather he was probably sending owls himself to the daily prophet filled with other random rumors just to see how far the daily prophet would go in printing nonsense. The thought made Harry laugh and he had to show it to the heir who started snickering himself.

Of course Harry was right, at least somewhat. For the first week or so a lot of the students kept going on a lot about Tom's adoption. Suddenly all his great grades and abilities were directly linked to being Dumbledore's biological son. Tom's and his relationship was a joke, no matter where they went they kept asking Harry how much Tom was paying him, it was pretty annoying. Worse, Harry had ended up spending most of his time keeping his boyfriend under control, because Dumbledore has decided it was the perfect time to vanish again.

Thankfully with the Apparition test coming up most of the rumors had died down as everyone began studying. So for once being able to relax, Harry and the others were outside in the court yard doing just that. It was nice out for once, and while three sat reading pamphlets from the ministry about Apparition, Harry got to sit and play a game of wizard's chess with Draco. He was quickly reminded of his previous summer and had to keep himself from laughing every time he saw a piece move.

"Promise me we won't play this at all during our vacation," Harry said grinning at the Slytherin.

"Took us this long to want to even look at the pieces again," Draco agreed.

The other three friends were in bad moods, or rather, they were nervous and trying their best to calm their nerves with the pamphlet. Even Tom who had nailed everything perfectly the week before suddenly looked like a nervous wreck.

_Must be nice,_ Harry thought to himself taking out one of Draco's pieces. He knew he'd be worried about his own test in a few months, but it'd be better if he could just get it over with, with everyone else. Of course that wasn't about to happen and worse yet, he couldn't even go watch. "I can't believe we have to go to potions class while they take the test."

"At least I don't have to watch Weasley fail," Draco smirked. He took one of Harry's pieces, it didn't seem like either of them were really putting much heart into the game. With as many pieces as they were both losing, neither side wanted to listen to either Draco or Harry anymore.

"I can hear you!" Ron screamed. He dropped the pamphlet he was reading onto the ground and covered his eyes with both hands. "I can't do this!" He yelled rolling back and forth. "This is too much pressure! Why can't they just pass us based on our practice runs?"

"You've done it before," Harry said ignoring his friend's outburst. "Just do what you did then and you'll be fine." The bell rang and all five of them looked at each other. They'd be splitting up or rather Harry would be separating from Tom during an important stepping stone in his magical life. "You guys will be fine," Harry said again grabbing the wizard's chess game and throwing it into his bag. He took Tom's hand into his own and gave him a kiss. "Good luck."

"Thanks..." The heir returned the kiss, he seemed paler to Harry than usual.

"I'm sure Professor McGonagall will be there to watch you," Harry grinned. "I'll get some butterbeer for us to celebrate with tonight."

"Sounds good," Hermione said her voice squeaking. "Umm...try and...Get that memory Harry."

"Oh right. The class will be pretty empty," he said the grin still on his face as he turned to Draco. "Let's go drive a teacher insane."

Smirking Draco nodded. They all walked into the castle together then, the three taking the test going on to the Great Hall, Harry and Draco heading down the stairs for the dungeons. When they were almost to the classroom a girl came running up.

"Harry Potter?" the girl asked.

"Yeah..." The girl handed him a rolled up piece of parchment and ran off. Wondering what it could possibly be, he unrolled the piece of paper and began reading. When he finished he couldn't help letting out a loud sigh. "Hagrid's spider Aragog died," he muttered. "Just great. He wants us to go and see the spider off."

"Knew that half-giant was mad."

"Shut it Draco." Harry shoved the parchment into his pocket. "This is going to be a really long lesson."

"Forget the test, focus on the memory," he reminded Harry.

"Yeah." The Gryffindor was glad that Draco was there to keep reminding him, he'd easily forget with all that was going on if he didn't. They entered the potions classroom, to Harry's amazement there were only three people in the class. Harry, Draco, and Ernie, four if you counted Slughorn himself. "This should be an interesting class..."

"Or a boring one," Draco said pulling his book out of his bad and dropping it onto the table.

"Welcome, welcome. Is this it? Too young yet to take the test yourselves?" Slughorn asked with a laugh. "Well no problems there. Always another chance to take it, and more time to practice now," he smiled. "Let's do something fun today."

"What should we do?" Harry asked trying to get Slughorn talking. If he could get the potion's professor to start talking there was a good chance he'd keep going until Harry got the memory out of him.

"Let's just pick a potion out of our books and do them."

"...Right," Harry said looking to Draco and shrugging. Harry opened his own book and started to go through it to decide on one, Draco doing the same.

(X)

"Welcome everyone. I'm sure you're all well prepared to take your Apparaition test. You will be lining up based on your last name, we have two instructors here for each line, so everyone do your best!" One of the instructors yelled out happily. This just happened to make the students more annoyed, but the test was on. Everyone began dividing up based on last names. Tom had to be redirected to another one, having forgotten that Dumbledore had changed his official school records to his new last name.

"They must think I'm an idiot now," Tom growled quietly to Hermione. They'd gotten shoved into the same line now that their last names only had a few letter differences.

"They probably just think you're nervous...like we all are," Hermione said shifting from one foot to the other.

Tom nodded and started looking around the room. There were tons of students there, the ones they'd been practicing with from the start as well as some others, older students it seemed, that hadn't passed their previous test. Tom didn't want to even think about what would happen if he didn't pass. He'd probably disown himself before anyone else could. Frowning he folded his arms across his chest tightly.

_I'm actually nervous_, he thought with a laugh. _Me, Tom Riddle, am nervous about something I've done already a great number of times, who was tutored by Dumbledore himself. _He closed his eyes trying to get his fear to ebb away. The truth was though he wasn't used to being nervous, rather he was used to being over confident and always knowing what to do.

"I don't know if I can do this," he blurted out and Hermione looked horrified.

"If you don't think you can do this, how do I stand a chance?!"

"I don't know!" He said biting his lip. 'Did Sirius pass this test?' Tom suddenly asked his lover.

'Yes,' came Harry's surprised reply. 'Why?'

'Just making sure,' Tom said placing a glare on his face. The thought reassured him a great deal, if someone like Sirius could pass this test he definitely could, couldn't he? It wouldn't be a big deal if he just treated it like another practice session then he would be fine. "Alright, if Sirius can do this, we have no choice, but to pass," he told Hermione and held his hand out to her. She took it and they shook, both nodding to one another.

"I'll never admit I said it, but you're right. If we can't pass something Sirius managed to his first time...we're failures."

"Agreed," Tom said. "But I will admit if asked." When their hands slipped apart he took in the room and death glared every single instructor. He'd be okay. It might not seem like it while he was waiting in line, but failing was just not something Tom did and so he wouldn't do it, it was that simple. The line inched closer so far everyone ahead of them had passed.

"I guess it is easy," Tom said as another student passed. "If all these people can manage it, surely we will be the best here," he said smugly. For some reason as long as he kept himself glaring at everyone he felt confident in his ability to do whatever it took to get a passing mark.

"Right, we have tips from Dumbledore. That should be more than enough," the Gryffindor agreed. Hermione was called up and Tom stood and watched her. It annoyed him that Dumbledore and McGonagall weren't there, but as long as he had the passing grade it didn't really matter. He could shove it in their faces once it was over.

_He did promise to watch me though...but I also told him not to and now he's not even in the castle,_ Tom thought with a sigh. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut? He never did well on exams unless he was around someone he had something to prove to. Harry was a perfect example of this since he wanted to keep pushing his boyfriend to get higher grades and Dumbledore...

"Aderes Dumbledore." Tom nodded and started forward to the hoop they'd placed on the floor. It was the same one they'd used so many times before. "Whenever you're ready," the instructor said, clipboard in hand. Hermione was behind the instructor waving at him, she looked relieved and when another instructor handed her a paper she waved it in front of him causing him to grin.

"Right," Tom said standing straight and focusing his attention on the instructor in front of him. He took one more look around the room, thought he saw something that sort of resembled Dumbledore, but it was actually nothing and looked back to the instructor. "Ready," he said taking a deep breath.

"On the count of three then...One...two...three."

(X)

"A Euphoria potion?" Draco asked staring down at Harry's cauldron. "Could you be any more obvious?" the Slytherin looked highly amused.

"Probably not," Harry admitted with a grin. He hoped if he could get Slughorn to taste even just a little bit of it, he could get the professor to hand the memory over more easily. "It's worth a shot though, isn't it?"

"Not really," Draco said looking down at his own concoction. He'd gone with a laughing potion. "I think you just knew how hopeless it was from the beginning."

"Well do you have any ideas?" Harry asked bitterly. When Draco just shrugged at him he scowled and sat down in his chair looking at the potion moodily. Why was it so hard to get a memory out of someone? If Tom had been actually working hard to get it with him they'd have had the memory weeks ago. When the class was coming to an end, Slughorn checked the cauldrons quickly, seemed impressed with Draco and Harry's then made a dead run for the door. Harry hadn't thought the professor could move that fast. "...That was pointless," Harry sighed staring at the door now.

"Yeah," Draco agreed. "We knew that from the start though didn't we?"

"Shut it." Harry sighed standing up. He was about to clean up his cauldron then stopped. "Think we should bring some back just in case one of them failed?" Draco thought about it for a moment and nodded.

"Probably better than dealing with a moody Weasley all night."

"Do you have no faith in him at all? You're as bad as Aderes," Harry said taking out three vials and filling them up with the potion. He corked them tightly and put them back into his bag, then cleaned up the cauldron.

"It's really hard to have faith in him when he panics at the simplest of things," Draco said putting his bag over his shoulder. "Even basic tests or homework, he freaks out even when Hermione and Aderes have prepared us beyond what is required for them."

"He just has a nerve problem. What do you expect? He's the youngest of how many kids?"

"So it's his parents' fault," Draco said simply. "They made him a loony."

"Oh you're a great boyfriend," Harry said rolling his eyes as the two of them exited the room. Despite the words they were exchanging, Harry was having fun. He rarely got to hang out with Draco like they had over the summer, less he wanted to feel the wraith of his boyfriend for it. That was something the Gryffindor never completely understood. Tom trusted both Draco and him, so why was he so nervous to leave the two of them alone together? Tom got to hang out alone with Draco. "So we know Hermione and Aderes passed...get the butterbeer anyway to mix with the euphoria potion for Ron?"

"Sounds like a plan," Draco sighed. "Guess we'll be working with him over the summer so when we do our test he can pass with us. If he fails twice he might throw himself out that window of his."

"Can't have that," Harry agreed and so the two headed for the kitchen.

(X)

Somehow Draco and Harry were alone in the common room when Hermione, Tom, and Ron walked in together. Tom and Hermione of course looked quite smug with themselves and were talking happily, Ron looked like he was eyeing the window behind Harry.

"You were right," Harry sighed handing Draco five galleons.

"You bet against me?" Ron roared staring in horror at his boyfriend.

"I know you too well," Draco said pocketing his wins. Ron didn't seem sure how to digest this information, but he ended up sitting next to Draco anyway and began whining.

"It was only half an eyebrow...what does that matter anyway?"

"I take it you two did much better?" Harry asked after he'd looked to see if they'd replaced Ron's eyebrow, they had.

"Of course we did," Tom said confidently. "What do you take us for? We studied and practiced. We were able to do things nobody else could even possibly attempt," the heir said.

"What did they have you do?" Harry asked frowning. If there was more to the test than actually Apparating he was going to be in trouble.

"Oh, the instructors thought they were so good he had them demonstrating to everyone else how to do it after they'd gone and had them going around the room. A bunch of..." Ron's voice trailed off and went into a string of curses instead of an actual sentence.

"That's great," Harry beamed at them. "Was Dumbledore there?" He'd known that the headmaster had said he'd watch Tom's test and had a feeling even though Tom had told him not to that he would still show up.

"I told him not to come and for once he listened to me," Tom smirked. "That old man is finally starting to know who's in charge."

Of course when Harry took one scan of their bond he noticed all the rage going through the heir's mind and sighed.

"You're hopeless," he said pulling the bottles of butterbeer from his bag. "To celebrate," he said handing them out. "And to keep you sane," he grinned at Ron. When his friend took the butterbeer he threw the potion of euphoria at him. "Made it in class, should cheer you up."

"I thought you bet on me to win!" Ron said now looking horrified.

"I did. I was going to use it to get Slughorn to give me the memory, but didn't work. He ran out of the room before I knew what was going on."

"He can run?" Tom asked looking shocked.

"That's what I thought," Draco snickered.

"...Harry, that's it," Hermione said looking pleased with herself. "The potion, Felix Felicis, use it to get the memory!"

"Wait," Tom jumped in almost immediately. "We were saving that for the summer, all five of us were going to have the day of our lives together."

"I can just use a bit, it shouldn't take too much to get the memory out of him and you're not exactly helping me," Harry pointed out. He leaned back in his seat and took a deep drink from his butterbeer. "It should work out fine...oh right." He set his butterbeer down, grabbed his bag and started rummaging through it. When he found the rolled up parchment he handed it to Tom. "Aragog died last night."

"That thing finally croaked eh?" Tom asked looking over the letter. "Been waiting for years to hear that."

"Tom!"

"What? I like snakes, remember?"

"That's beside the point. We should go see him off," Harry said glaring at him. "If it was Buckbeak or something you know Hagrid would be there with us."

"Yeah, he would," Tom agreed. The other three however were looking at Tom and Harry as if they'd lost their minds.

"The memory?" Hermione asked weakly.

"You don't have to go with," Tom said handing the parchment back to Harry. "I can keep my boyfriend safe well enough by myself."

"And who's going to protect me from you?" Harry asked after he'd shoved the parchment into his bag. When Tom said nothing, Harry kissed him on the cheek and headed for the stairs. He dropped his bag off in the room and grabbed the bottle of Felix Felicis from the chest. He hoped it would work well enough, popped out the cork and took a quick drink from it. He figured the amount would give him a few hours, enough time to see Aragog off and then get the memory from Slughorn.

As the potion settled in, he couldn't help feeling amazing. It was almost as if he had the power to do anything he could possibly ever want and more. Even better, he knew he could do it. He descended the steps in a fluid graceful motion until he was standing in front of his boyfriend.

"Well someone is perky," Tom smirked. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I can do...wait why did I use the potion if you were going to go with me anyway?" Harry had a quick fearful thought that the potion wasn't actually working at all.

"I said I was going to go with you to say bye to Aragog, not get a memory," Tom corrected him. The two then said their goodbyes to their friends and headed out. Harry wondered if the potion would maybe have an effect on his boyfriend, which would cause him to stay with anyway to get the memory, but wasn't sure how strong the potion was.

"I don't get it...I feel invincible. Shouldn't Voldemort be drinking this stuff every day?"

"Please," Tom snorted. "We don't need potions to get what we want. We make our own luck," he said with a shake of his head. "Always."

"You wanted to use the potion for a good day," Harry pointed out and the heir started scowling.

"If you haven't noticed my luck has been rather bad lately." They managed to get outside without running into a single person, no doubt thanks to the potion and even found the front hall door unlocked. They went outside walking together, Tom holding Harry's hand after a while. "Hagrid's is this way," Tom said when Harry had started off in a different direction.

"Yeah...but I feel like looking at the vegetable garden first." Tom stared at him, shrugged, and the couple started towards the garden. They stopped a few seconds short when they heard voices talking.

"Thank you for taking the time out, Pomona," the two heard from up ahead. It turned out to be Slughorn holding a large amount of leaves close to his chest. "Most agree that they are at their most efficacious if picked at twilight."

"Oh I quite agree," came Professor Sprout's reply. "That enough for you?"

"Plenty, plenty. This should allow for a few leaves for each of my third years and some to spare if anybody over-stews them. Well, good evening to you and many thanks again!" He called out. Professor Sprout left vanishing into her greenhouse and Slughorn started towards them.

'He really is an annoying person,' Tom thought bitterly. 'This potion seems to be working overtime in your behalf.'

'Isn't that what it's supposed to be doing?' Harry thought back. He realized that Tom meant he'd been tricked into being with Harry to meet Slughorn and started mentally laughing. The potion was strong indeed.

"Professor Slughorn, good evening," Harry called out waving his free hand at him.

"Merlins...oh...you're both here," Slughorn said looking extremely uneasy. Harry wasn't sure which of them scared Slughorn more, but it would look rather odd to see a professor running from two of his students in the middle of the night holding a bunch of leaves. The man would stay put, Harry was sure. "What are you doing out here?"

"Hagrid's pet died," Tom said absently. "We're sending it off."

"Pet?" Slughorn asked and his shoulders seemed to relax. Harry knew that by not talking about the memory at first they were putting the professor into a false sense of security. They should have started that way before.

"His giant spider died last night...the very first one he ever got. He wants to bury it, but not alone. I promised to go and Aderes agreed to join me."

"I had no idea the rumors of the acromantulas were true...and how valuable their venom is..."

"It's been dead merely a day...could still be some for the milking," Tom hinted and the professor's eyes lit up.

"I'm sure if you were to come...Hagrid would be more than glad to help...you coming to see Aragog off and all. I'm sure he'd be pleased," Harry added and that seemed to be all the potion's professor needed to hear.

"Tell you what m'boy. I'm going to put these away and change, grab some wine. We'll send that spider off in a grand way! Don't start without me!" He called after them running towards the castle.

"And that is how you properly manipulate someone," Tom said smiling at Harry. "I have taught you well."

"I feel like I'm using Hagrid," Harry admitted and Tom kissed him.

"If Hagrid knew the role he was playing in acquiring such an important item for Dumbledore he would do it without a second thought," Tom whispered to him.

"...So why don't we just tell him that?" Harry asked slightly glaring at Tom. He had a feeling his boyfriend was still in his manipulator mood.

"If we get there quick enough we can," Tom said. Harry hadn't expected that and so the two hurried to Hagrid's to explain what was going on. Harry knocked on the door and a few seconds later it was opened, Hagrid standing in the doorway sobbing into his large handkerchief.

"Yeh came!" He said loudly only to burst into more tears. "And ye brought Tom with," he said blowing his nose.

"Yeah...Ron, Hermione, and Draco are kind of busy, they really wanted to come. They're really sorry for your loss."

"Don' – don't matter. He'd've bin touched yeh're here...he...he really liked yeh! And yeh too Tom. Thought yeh was fun to harass!" He started crying loudly again and Harry had to pat him on the elbow to get him to calm down.

"Glad I was...able to amuse him," Tom said through gritted teeth. Harry had no idea what the heir and spider had been through, but Harry gave him a warning glare not to screw things up and turned back to Hagrid.

"Listen, we have a really big favor to ask you...I know it's not right to ask you this with Aragog just having died, but we really need your help," Harry said. "We ran into Slughorn on our way here-"

"Yer not in trouble are yeh?" Hagrid asked. "It's all my fault! If I'd have jus-"

"I'm not in trouble," Harry assured him before Hagrid could start crying again. "We need you to let Tom to milk Aragog."

"Milk him?" Hagrid asked his eyes widening. "Yeh gonna poison Slughorn!"

"What? No!" Tom snapped turning from the window to Hagrid. "We're going to barter with it to get Slughorn to hand over a memory Dumbledore is in desperate need of."

"Oh...oh Dumbledore...well if it's fer Dumbledore yeh know I'm willin to do it...he won't just...give it to him?" Hagrid sniffed.

"No, I'm sorry if you're against this Hagrid...that's why we wanted to ask first before Slughorn showed up throwing hints around."

"No, no it's fine Harry. Aragog would be happy teh help Dumbledore out. Dumbledore was always real nice to him," he said wiping some stray tears away. "Let Aragog live in the forest...wish he were here," he said and broke down again.

"Me too," Tom muttered glaring out the window.

"Do you know where he went?" Tom asked his question directed at Hagrid. When the half-giant shook his head, the heir sighed and turned his attention back to the window. Harry had known that Tom wasn't happy about the headmaster missing his Apparation test, but he didn't think it was bothering him that much. Even odder was the fact that Hagrid didn't know where Dumbledore had gone. The half-giant was someone Dumbledore usually trusted with that sort of information.

_But then, McGonagall wasn't there either,_ Harry thought frowning slightly. He found it odd that neither of them had shown up to show some kind of support for the Slytherin. Actually, it was shocking, because had the heir failed, he probably would have attempted to kill the instructor and with Harry also not there to stop him, one of his family members should have been present to keep him in line. Actually, the fact that he had no one to show off to was enough to set the heir off, what had the professors been thinking?

(TBC)

Alright, so we're getting somewhere now, kind of. I hope. Maybe not.


	49. Memory Mayhem

Just to get it out of my system real quick, longest fanfic I've written so far! HA.

Notes: (X) Is pov change and or time jump

Warnings: It's shonen ai, slash, gay guys. If you have not figured this out yet...you're in desperate need of help. Really, I mean it, go locate some.

Chapter, 49: Memory Mayhem

A knock on the door drew Harry out of his thoughts. He watched his boyfriend as Hagrid opened it. Harry knew Tom's mood was foul thanks to Dumbledore and made a mental check to keep his boyfriend happy so he would behave while they attempted to obtain the memory. He walked over to the heir silently and dropped his hand onto his shoulder. Tom didn't even look at him, but the Gryffindor didn't mind. When Dumbledore returned, his boyfriend would stop moping. Slughorn walked in and said something, but Harry of course was too busy staring at Tom to notice. He bent down kissing his boyfriend on the neck.

'Stop worrying so much,' He told him firmly. He ended up wrapping both his arms around the heir's chest while laying his head on his shoulder. 'I bet he saw your test, you just didn't notice.' There was always the chance that Tom was too busy focusing on his test that he didn't see his stepfather in the crowd, or maybe he could at least try and convince him of that.

'How can you possibly miss that man in a crowd?' the heir snapped.

'He told you he'd come. He went.' Harry said.

'Sure he did.'

'If it bothers you that much, you should tell him," Harry was met with not only surprise and warmth, but also a tinge of annoyance, which of course amused him. Sometimes his boyfriend really did overlook the simplest of solutions.

"So glad yeh came," Hagrid sniffed.

Reality of what they were doing and why they were there set in and Harry looked away from his boyfriend towards the door.

'We'll ask him as soon as he gets back. You'll see,' Harry told him. He didn't know how, but he knew Dumbledore had seen Tom pass his test. The possibility of the headmaster not going to see his son was mad. The heir however gave no reply, but that was alright too. He knew how important this memory was to Dumbledore, Tom wouldn't do anything to stop him from getting it. At least he hoped he wouldn't. "Where are we going to bury Aragog?" Harry asked.

"Me garden...those...those other spiders won't let me near o'place! Had teh fight 'em just teh get Aragog's body. Already dug da hole..." He was choking back sobs and Tom finally moved away from the window and joined the group. The heir was able to reach just beneath Hagrid's shoulder and started patting it gently. It was weird. Harry hadn't noticed that his boyfriend was almost four or so inches taller than himself. He felt his face get slightly hot, he didn't want to be shorter than the heir, but he remembered that wasn't why they were there and shook his head.

"He lived a long time, even for his race," Tom offered.

"Yeh...yeh he did," Hagrid sobbed and to Harry's surprise the half giant leaned over and hugged Tom tightly. "All dem times we spent together!"

"Yeah..." Tom said his arms pinned worthlessly at his side.

"Warnin me o'bout yeh-know-who comin teh get him. I really o'ppreciate it..."

"You needed help," the heir said simply. "I should have done it sooner." Harry of course saw the real reason through their bond. Tom had wanted an excuse to piss off Voldemort. He made another mental note, this one to never let Hagrid know the truth and kept listening. "Shouldn't we be doing this outside?"

"S'pose yer right," Hagrid sniffed. He motioned to the back door and all four headed into the garden. Aragog's body was lying on its back, all eight legs bent in close to its stomach. It was sitting next to the giant hole behind a row of pumpkins. They stopped by the hole, Slughorn looking completely out of place. In all honesty, Harry felt like he didn't belong there either. It was not often that he was reminded of how old Tom really was given how young he looked. He'd completely banished the thought that Tom and Hagrid had gone to school together from his mind. "Remember when he was born?" Hagrid asked.

"Yeah...you had him sleeping in your bed in that cardboard box."

Harry was surprised to see his surroundings change without warning. He was no longer outside in Hagrid's garden, but rather standing inside of Hogwart's castle near a dorm room. Harry had to blink a few times, he didn't know what was going on, but the second he saw his boyfriend dash into the room he was standing in front of he followed him. The door slammed shut behind him and he was shocked he wasn't smashed by it.

"Get that thing out of here!" Harry heard Tom scream. To the Gryffindor's complete shock Harry realized he was looking at a younger Hagrid and his boyfriend. It was something Harry had already seen before, because of the dairy, but this one was somehow different.

"He's not o'thing!"

"I don't care what he is," Aderes hissed. "My brother is on his way with Dumbledore. He'll get you expelled!"

"Wh, what?" Hagrid asked in horror.

Growling Tom grabbed the box holding a spider the size of a cat and dashed towards the window.

"Hide out here until we call you back in," he told the spider quickly. He shut the window, locked it and sat down on Hagrid's bed hushing the half-giant when he tried to say something. Sure enough seconds later there was knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Hagrid asked weakly.

"May I come in Hagrid?" asked Dumbledore.

" 'Course sir," Hagrid said and the door opened. In walked a younger Dumbledore and Voldemort. The later was looking around the room until his eyes fell on Aderes who was sitting on the Hagrid's bed holding a Transfiguration book.

"Aderes, what a pleasant surprise," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I had no idea you and Hagrid were friends."

"Better than a lot of other people here," the heir snorted. "I'm going to guess you aren't here to drag me out of the room? I was just helping him study."

"That guess would be correct," Dumbledore smiled. "Do you know why I'm here Aderes?"

"No," Aderes said flatly. He dropped the Transfiguration book onto the bed looking from Dumbledore to Voldemort.. "Hagrid was having problems understanding something. I offered to tutor him. Am I in trouble for that? You told me to make friends."

"Splendid," Dumbledore said his eyes twinkling. "Of course you're not in trouble."

"Can I remember you why we're here, sir?" Voldemort demanded.

"You may, but I don't see why. The only thing in this room is two students studying," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Perhaps next time?" he asked the younger Voldemort. He stepped out of the room then leaving the three students to themselves.

"Where is it?" Voldemort asked searching the room again. He was obviously not pleased.

"It?" Aderes asked innocently. "Oh, you mean the spider I just hid from you," he said getting up off the bed and stepping towards his brother. "Tell me. Where's the snake you hid from me?"

Voldemort's nostrils flared at that, his eyes narrowing.

"You would do well to watch yourself," he said deathly calm before heading towards the door.

"I enjoy games as much as the next person," Tom admitted reclosing the distance between himself and his brother. "The thing is I'm getting tired of yours." He smiled then, Voldemort's eyes flashing. Tom seemed to ignore him or just not care. "It's a real funny thing, that chamber Professor," Aderes called out from the room. Dumbledore had frozen in place, he'd barely made it a few doors from the room, and no doubt he'd been listening in. "Remember how you said it was made by Salazar Slytherin?"

Dumbledore made his way back into the room. He no longer looked amused at all.

"Yes," the professor said.

Voldemort looked like he was going to kill Aderes where he stood. Harry realized though there was nothing Voldemort could do. He was stuck with Aderes running the whole show less be forced to acknowledge his involvement and thus his guilt.

"A true heir." Tom said dramatically pausing. "Salazar would go to great lengths to make sure only his chosen blood line would be allowed entrance. A special gift perhaps? One I was forced to learn not too long ago."

"I see…That would definitely fit with Salazar's character," the headmaster said giving a slight nod.

"And I assure you Hagrid does not know how to speak Parseltongue. You might want to find a translator that does, perhaps from the ministry? Allow them to talk to the basilisk running around the school."

"A basilisk?" The word came from both Dumbledore and Voldemort at that point.

"I told you a couple of weeks ago that I kept hearing hushed conversations. I thought I could read minds," Tom said arrogantly. "Then I realized I'd get no replies unless I spoke in the snake language. Snake plus stone means basilisk."

"I dare say Aderes, do you know where it is?" Dumbledore looked completely thrilled now, no doubt a huge amount of worry being taken from him. Harry could only imagine how much better Dumbledore felt at that point. He knew the poor headmaster had been going mad when the basilisk had been running through the school during his second year. Students had died during this first time though.

"Not at the moment," Tom admitted.

"Can you stop it?"

"It will listen to me," The Slytherin agreed. "Whoever has been handling it has been doing so poorly. It's angered with them. It merely wishes to go back to sleep."

"Then let us stop this nonsense at once," Dumbledore said quickly.

"Yes dear brother. I'm sure I could help you with that," Voldemort said calmly.

"What a pleasure that would be," Aderes smiled. "I'm sure it would be thrilled to deal with two parseltongue speakers."

"He was so...so tiny!" Hagrid howled and burst into a full onslaught of tears.

Harry couldn't understand what in the world had just happened, but he was now back in the garden where he belonged. He watched awkwardly then trying to pretend nothing had happened. Tom had actually known and liked the spider. The Gryffindor on the other hand had met Aragog once and that had not been the best of introductions. Aragog had tried to feed Ron and him to his family.

Harry felt Tom's hand jerk out of his own as their bond slammed down shut. He was looking at Harry horrified and even took a few steps back. It all happened so fast Harry nearly flew head first into the grave, but luckily Tom wasn't mad enough to just watch him die and caught him within seconds of him going in.

"Yeh slip 'Arry?" Hargid asked wiping his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Harry lied. _At least thanks to the felix potion I am, _he thought understanding the truth of why he'd been saved. He moved back a step from the hole just in case the potion wore off and he would be forced to handle his boyfriend on his own.

The Gryffindor's mind was going in every direction possible then as the burial continued. Something had happened, he was sure of it, but what had happened was another story. It was like he'd been using the pensive only…

Now Harry's eyes were wide. He'd been reading Tom's mind. He had somehow managed to step into the heir's thoughts and see them, maybe because that's what his boyfriend had been thinking? Maybe Tom had accidentally sent the memory through the bond?

Harry sure hoped so. He was going to be in a different hole soon if this became a problem. Sure he had some rights to see the heir's memories. Tom used his own memory like a library. That wasn't how Harry wanted to learn things though. Even odder, the usual small block that was in place within the bond so every little emotion wouldn't go out of control had suddenly vanished before Tom had slammed it shut. Shouldn't that have been up to avoid something like this from happening? Why had his boyfriend removed it in the first place?

"T...Aderes...could yeh...do da honors?" Hagrid asked. He held out some empty vials and the heir took them quietly. Another thing Harry hadn't known, his boyfriend knew how to milk spiders. Just watching it was enough to tell him that the Slytherin had done it before. When Tom was done he corked them and slid the bottles into his pockets.

"Finished."

Harry quickly took note of how wide Slughorn's eyes had gotten and now knew that getting the memory would no longer be an issue. The real question now was would Tom be nice and hand the bottles over? Harry didn't think it'd be too hard though. All he had to do was exchange the memory for the venom and probably himself to his boyfriend for said venom. Unless of course his boyfriend killed him first, which was always a possibility, mind reading accident or not.

"He was a great spider, the king of his entire clan," Harry said when all three wizards were just staring at him. It sounded weak given his lack of companionship with the spider. "I, um, I'm sure he's in the best place he could possibly be once a spider dies." No sooner had he finished did Hagrid fully break down crying again. So much so, Tom and Harry had to be the ones to push Aragog's body into the hole and bury him. When that was done they led Hagrid back into his hut, while Slughorn began removing cups from the cabinet for everyone. He passed them out and they all sat down raising the cups up high.

"Cheers, to one of the grandest arachnids who ever lived!" The three took long drinks, Harry only pretending to do so. He needed his wits about him.

'Don't drink too much,' Harry warned his boyfriend. He needed him with a proper functioning brain as well. There was always the chance he wouldn't be able to get the memory by himself or worse. His boyfriend would suddenly become a rather large obstacle when it came to getting the venom from Slytherin to Professor.

'Just wanted a taste,' Tom replied innocently.

'Your emotions are way too mixed up for that. Don't get drunk,' Harry told him bluntly. He was seriously realizing that beating around the bush with his boyfriend just wasn't worth it right now, even if it might cause a fight.

'I won't.' Tom slammed the mug down on the table and with that folded his arms across his chest looking away.

Rolling his eyes Harry let out a sigh. Why couldn't his boyfriend understand he needed him right now? This was really important, he knew that. Why act like a four year old?

'I just want your help,' Harry mentally scolded. 'I know you're sick of doing that, but if you do this, I won't ask for your help anymore.'

'Stop being so dramatic,' Tom replied. 'I happen to hold my liquor well.'

"Then sit here and get drunk," Harry accidentally said aloud. It didn't really matter though, because while Tom was staring at him in shock, the two adults were busy actually getting drunk.

"Not enough wine left for me to possibly get drunk," the heir said now looking amused. Harry noticed then how low the bottle of wine was already. "It seems to be more than enough for them though."

"Yeah..." Harry had really thought Hagrid wouldn't get drunk so easily, but then the half-giant had probably been drinking since Aragog had died. If that was the case he could understand. "Let's just get the memory and leave. I really don't want to be here anymore."

"Crying bug you?" the heir asked with a smirk.

"No, I want this memory so we can deliver it to Dumbledore and get this over with. Don't you want to be able to move on with our lives?"

Tom tilted his head seeming to think about it. It took him a moment while Harry glared his arms across his chest when his boyfriend finally nodded.

"Alright, let's get the memory." Harry had to do a double take, but nodded not passing the chance up. Tom had been against helping with this memory from the start and with a bit of wine in his system he'd agreed without a single complaint. The Gryffindor wondered if he could sneak some wine into Hogwarts from time to time to keep his boyfriend relaxed. He was sure he could get Dobby to bring some in. "Can we wait a few minutes though?"

"Why?" Harry asked hotly. "It's the perfect time to do this."

"It's the perfect time to watch," Tom corrected him. Harry wanted to ask why, but his question was answered when he finally followed the heir's gaze. The adults were talking, sort of, there were words coming out of their mouths, but there was nothing logical about what was coming out. "I had no idea your last name was actually pronounced "Otter", why didn't you correct me?" Tom asked smugly after Slughorn had successfully managed to say his last name wrong about six times. The fact that Hagrid hadn't corrected him once showed just how drunk he was himself.

"Shut up," Harry muttered closing his eyes for a moment. 'Okay, they're drunk, quite drunk. Getting this memory should be so easy right now we probably just have to poke them.'

'Well, alcohol is a depressant, so you might actually have a harder time,' the heir explained sounding proud of himself. Harry wanted to grab his wand and ram it down Tom's throat at this point, but didn't. Killing his boyfriend would just make obtaining the memory that much harder since he'd be in Azkaban if he succeeded.

"Professor Slughorn?" Harry asked taking a step towards the potion's teacher. If he did this just right it would be his. "The venom you wanted..." He let his gaze go towards Tom, Slughorn's following his own. "I could get it for you..."

"Be wonderful m'boy..." he hiccuped and Harry had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't laugh.

"It is as you said however quite expensive...I'd really love to give it to you though."

"...What do you want?" He asked his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

'Don't tell him yet,' Tom warned him. Harry was glad for the warning and instead of telling his professor he sat down beside him on the couch.

"Did you know...I remember the night my parents were killed?" He asked quietly. He didn't know why he was bringing up the death of his parents, but he knew it would work. "I remember little bits, because of Voldemort," he said winning a wince from Slughorn. "He murdered him...my dad first I mean. Then he stepped over his body toward my mum...Told her to get out of the way, but she wouldn't. She could have run, saved herself, but she stayed..." He said reliving the memory Voldemort had seared into his mind by means of nightmares. "She didn't move and with dad already dead...she pleaded with Voldemort, but he just laughed at her...such-"

"Stop it!" Slughorn and Tom both screamed. Harry had expected Slughorn's outburst, but not Tom's. Surely he'd seen the nightmares too through the bond? They'd been less frequent since he'd started sharing a bed with his boyfriend, but not eliminated.

"My parents were good people...yet you won't help me even though I'm their son..." He looked away from the professor then hoping it would seem like he was about to cry. "I just need a memory sir...just a simple memory so Dumbledore and I can move forward to get rid of Voldemort...for my mum and dad..."

"For your parents..." Slughorn whispered and Harry took notice of a few tears starting to flow from the potion master's eyes.

"Yes...for my parents," he said quietly.

"What good would some memory do...?"

"It could mean everything to destroying him," Harry said simply and to his shock, but complete relief, Slughorn raised his wand to his head.

"I don't see how this could help...such a foolish memory..." The silvery thread came out and he placed it into an empty vial, no doubt what he'd hoped to use to fill with venom. "I'm not proud of this..."

"Be proud that you helped us," Harry said taking the bottle. He slipped the bottle into his robe and motioned for Tom to come to his side. When the heir was beside him he removed the bottles of venom from his pocket, the heir snatching one back.

"I milked him, I deserve something for that," he told Harry. The Gryffindor was going to say something, but stopped when he saw that his boyfriend was trying to hide the fact he was crying. Shaking his head he set the bottles of venom in front of Slughorn who'd fallen asleep and stepped out into the night. When the two were alone walking back to the castle Harry grabbed the heir's hand.

"Does Aragog's death bother you that much?"

"Aragog? No..." He glared at Harry then and looked away.

"I was trying to give you an excuse," Harry snickered pulling Tom closer. When he was close enough he kissed him on the cheek. "I know it had to do with the nightmare I brought up."

"Nightmare? It's a memory."

"Yeah, Voldemort's. It's just a nightmare to me," Harry said somewhat sadly. "I don't remember my parents at all, well. I guess I do a little thanks to that photo album you and Hagrid gave me."

"I don't remember my parents either, but...I had Dumbledore." Tom stopped him at the top of the entrance of Hogwarts. "How can you be so accepting of your fate? Your parents were murdered. You grew up with horrible guardians. You never had any friends until you got here—"

"Thanks for reminding me Tom."

"I'm serious. I would have joined Voldemort if I had been in your situation...You're stronger than me mentally."

Harry was sure he was dreaming now and swore he would write a letter to Felix telling him he loved him and his product. These words, Harry knew he would never hear them again, probably never would have if not for the glorious potion.

"Well, I would pull pranks on my cousin every chance I got," Harry explained. "If I could get my uncle to yell at him, I would. If I thought I could do anything, anything at all to make anyone in that house's life even a tiny bit miserable, I did. The funny thing was, just me being there made them all miserable." He grinned at Tom then. "And you know, it really sucked, but it all feels like a blur anymore. My life didn't start until I came to Hogwarts. Now I'm here and I have great friends and you. I think it was a pretty decent trade off. Crappy childhood for a great life." The Slytherin looked at him, his head tilted to the side as it always was when he didn't quite understand what was being said to him. Harry thought he always looked adorable in that pose.

"I would have killed them, I still want to kill them," the heir said simply and Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'm well aware you want to kill my family, but they aren't worth it. Draco and I did enough damage to them over the summer to make up for everything they ever did to me." He started to drag Tom to the door then. "Let's get this memory to Dumbledore."

"He's not here remember?"

"He will be now that I'm looking for him," Harry grinned. "Potion remember?"

"Right..." Tom started to laugh then and the two walked into the castle. "Doesn't it ever bother you?" Tom asked as they walked through the school towards the headmaster's office. "I know that memory has woken you up a few times, but you never seem to really be effected by it."

"That nightmare used to keep me up for nights," Harry admitted. There was no sense in lying to his boyfriend. It was what it was. "Ever since I met you I haven't had it nearly as much. And when I do, I feel safe enough to not worry about it. I know you're always there to protect me."

"That's not true-" the heir started, but Harry stopped him, his hand covering his boyfriend's mouth.

"I don't expect you to be beside me for every breath I take. Just knowing that we're together, even if we're not physically together, that's enough," he tried to explain to him. "As long as our bond's in place and I can feel you, I'm at ease."

"I'd rather just be next to you," the heir muttered.

"You know as well as I do that isn't always the case…Hey…what happened in the graveyard?" Harry asked. The heir shook his head though and knocked on Dumbledore's door. Harry hadn't even realized they were standing in front of it already. When no answer came the heir pulled his wand out, tapped the knob a few times and the door swung up. "Should you be doing that?"

"He'd have changed it if he didn't want me in here," Tom said simply and pulled the Gryffindor into the room. He shut the door then and relocked it. Harry just shook his head at it all. Fwakes looked like he was ready to jump someone until he realized who the intruders were and jumped onto Tom's shoulder.

"Now will you talk about it?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow. "I didn't mean it, you know that right? I have no idea what happened, but it wasn't intentional."

"I got that when you almost fell into the hole," the heir said snickering. "I'm not sure myself. I guess I just let my guard down."

"Is that how it is when you're reading my mind?" Harry asked curiously. He took a seat in the usual chair unsure of what else to do. He felt extremely out of place being in the headmaster's office without the headmaster in it.

"Sometimes. I usually don't bother going in that far. I did it a lot when I didn't have much of a physical form. It was something to pass the time with when you were sleeping."

"This is going to sound really random, but it just occurred to me. Why in the world did you pose as a student who had nothing to do with your shadow form until after you forced me to sleep with you?"

Every portrait in the room turned in on the two then, even Fwakes looked like he was about to fall off of Tom's shoulder. The heir didn't seem to know what to say and actually ended up sitting down in the end.

"Why are you asking me this now?"

"I had a lot of time to think during the Christmas holiday and while I was in the infirmary. I just thought maybe there was some big reason…"

"I just wanted to make sure you were the same person I remembered. If you had changed too much from the memory alternations I would have had to find a way to make you remember even if I didn't."

"That seems like a really complicated plan."

"Would you have believed me?" he asked suddenly. "If I had told you I was the one stuck in your necklace driving your friends up a wall?"

"You could have proved it easily."

"Not exactly. My powers were in such a state of chaos since I was reentering my physical form. I had days I couldn't even stand. If I told you and tried to prove it and failed, you'd have never given me a second chance unless I had forced you to believe it."

"I guess," Harry said, but he still didn't get it. All his boyfriend had to do was make the answer yes appear on his necklace after he'd asked if Aderes really was the shadow.

"Besides, I wanted to get to know your friends, be a part of your life. If you knew I was the shadow would you have let me in so easily?"

"You drove us mad the entire time," Harry said staring at him. "If it wasn't for Draco we wouldn't have even let you sit with us."

"I'd have sat there anyway," Tom snorted. "Is this really that important?"

"No," Harry said grinning at him. "I just thought the whole thing was really amusing once I started thinking about it." He ran a finger down the side of his boyfriend's cheek then. "Can you even enter your shadow form anymore?"

"No," the heir said glaring. "Is that a problem?"

"Why do you get so defensive when I ask the questions? You're always asking me things," Harry said evenly. "I'm trying to have a decent conversation with you, learn some things that hopefully won't get you angry."

"I'm not angry I just don't understand why any of this in relevant."

"Would you rather we sit here in silence?" Harry asked then. That's exactly what they did for a total of three minutes before Tom threw his arms into the air and tackled Harry to the floor. "What are you doing?!"

"We can make out while being silent," he explained.

"This is the headmaster's office!" Harry cried. The last thing on his mind was making out. "And did you forget I have a memory in my pocket and you have spider venom? We could have easily died if these vials had cracked."

"I'm not worried about that," the heir hissed biting down on Harry's neck.

"Well then hopefully you're worried about your dad," Harry attempted as he tried to shove the heir off of him.

"Why would I care about him?"

"Because he's watching us," Harry groaned. The heir turned his head slowly his eyes falling on the headmaster who was looking at the two from the doorway. Harry couldn't tell how the headmaster was taking this, but at the very least, he didn't have his wand out.

"Dumbledore," Tom said as if the entire situation wasn't going on at the moment. "I see you're back."

"I see you let yourself into my room," the headmaster said just as calmly. "I dare hope there is a much better explanation to you being on my floor with your boyfriend than simply breaking and entering?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"We have the memory," Harry said managing to get Tom off of him and getting to his knees. "Thanks to the felix's potion, we have it."

TBC

I strongly suggest going back and rereading some chapters and some things have changed. At the least, read the end of chapter 48 as it has changed.


	50. Planning Ahead

I'd like to thank everyone who's been so patient with me, because I really don't deserve it. Life just has a way of trying to throw you out a window every time you sit down. Anyway, here's the update. Oh and for everyone who was worried I wasn't going to update ever again, my profile says I will never give up on one. It may take a long time for updates (usually thanks to my chaotic life), but believe me. My goal is to finish them all and keep writing till I fall over.

Warnings: It's gay, slash, shonen ai, etc, etc.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

' ' is mind speech

Italics are thoughts

" " normal speech

Chapter, 50: Planning Ahead

'You're lucky that potion is working so well in your favor,' the heir mentally sighed. He released the Gryffindor and slid off of him helping his boyfriend back up. When they were both seated the headmaster finally took his seat across from the students. Harry thought Dumbledore looked completely exhausted and wondered if it was due to Tom or other reasons.

'You're lucky he didn't catch us farther along and kill you,' Harry snapped back.

"Sir, we have the memory," Harry said removing the vial from his robe and placing it on the desk. It seemed to take the headmaster a few seconds to register what Harry had just said before his eyes took on a slight glow and he grabbed it.

"Finally," he whispered rushing towards the pensive.

"What do you mean finally? I showed you mine, it will be no different," Tom whined. When the headmaster didn't take the bait he looked away muttering.

Harry just rolled his eyes again. When was his boyfriend going to grow up anyway?

"I have been waiting so long for this memory," Dumbledore said pouring the contents of the vial into the pensive. "I agree, Tom's own memory has allowed for much insight, but I'd like to see Professor Slughorn's. Only he knows everything from start to finish."

"I'm sure Voldemort does too," Tom pointed out.

"If you could retrieve Voldemort's memories then by all means, bring them to us and him while you're at it."

Tom growled at that, but said nothing.

The Gryffindor took his boyfriend's hand then and stroked the top of it gently. The headmaster was in no mood to play games it would seem, while his boyfriend was ready for nothing, but. Even so the outburst seemed to have hurt his feelings.

"You know, I don't need to see this. I already know what happens," Tom hissed. He got to his feet knocking the chair over as he did.

"Tom!"

"And you can keep your stupid last name too!" the heir screamed storming out the door.

Harry watched his boyfriend go in horror, turned to look at the headmaster who looked just as shocked, then remembered why his boyfriend was so angry.

"He doesn't think you watched him test after you told him you'd be there."

"…So that's what this is about," the headmaster said slowly.

"Sir, I need to go after him. We'll view the memory another time." He was up and running then until he managed to find his boyfriend sitting inside one of the many secret passage ways in Hogwarts. He'd have never found him if not for the bond that had miraculously been reopened. He waited until the statute shut before approaching his boyfriend and sat down beside him.

Harry wasn't sure what to do at this point. Dumbledore had not denied the charges of not watching his son's test and his boyfriend looked like he was fighting every inch of emotion he had to not burst into tears. Even so he couldn't comfort him by saying what he wanted to hear. He would feel horrible if he told Tom Dumbledore had been there and then found out it was a lie.

"I don't know what to say. You're usually the one comforting me," he admitted throwing his arms around Tom and hugging him tightly. "He didn't say he wasn't there though."

"He wasn't," the heir hissed in the snake language. "Why would he have been?"

"Because you're important to him," Harry replied instantly. "You know he loves you. He would have never had your name legally changed if he didn't."

"I don't want his name," the heir muttered quietly. He dropped his head onto Harry's chest then, his eyes focused on the wall. "I don't want anything to do with him anymore."

"Was that test so important?" Harry asked. "I mean is it worth throwing away your relationship with Dumbledore?"

"It's not about the test," Tom snapped. He seemed to realize Harry was not the one at fault here and turned to look at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry with you. What bothers me is he said he would. If he couldn't make it, he should have just told me. I would have understood. Instead he left me looking around the room like an idiot."

Harry allowed the information to digest then kissed his boyfriend on the cheek pulling him closer. So what it boiled down to was the heir was mad for being abandoned, not from a lack of viewers. That made the situation more understandable, but no easier to fix.

"I don't think Dumbledore would have done anything to intentionally hurt you. If he didn't show up and we're not sure yet that he didn't, I'm sure he has a perfectly good reason."

"I don't want to hear the excuses," Tom said looking back at the wall. "Not right now. Let him find me and apologize on his knees."

"You know that isn't happening," the Gryffindor snickered. It wasn't from the situation, but the image he was getting from his boyfriend's mind of Dumbledore on the ground begging Tom and kissing his feet.

"I know…"

"Well just don't expect that," Harry warned him.

"I don't expect much," the heir said suddenly. "I didn't think you were going to chase after me so quickly. I figured you'd be watching that memory too."

"If it's that important to see, you can always show me your version."

The heir didn't seem to know what to say to that. He leaned into Harry's embrace then, his eyes closing. It was weird to be the one comforting his boyfriend, but he couldn't deny the fact that he was enjoying himself. Not, because his boyfriend was hurt, but because his boyfriend was letting him this time while he was hurt. It was a sign of trust the Gryffindor had never gotten from his boyfriend before.

While he was reveling in this he noticed the heir's mind had calmed down and sure enough when he looked down found him asleep. He hoped no one sounded any alarms when they didn't show up that night in their bed, because he wasn't about to move the heir an inch. The teen's emotions were just too difficult to put up with at the moment and after a good night's sleep he might decide being angry with anyone wasn't worth the effort.

(X)

Harry woke up before his boyfriend, but was thrilled to see they were back in the dorm. The first few times he'd woken up they had still been in the secret passage way and the Gryffindor's back had really been hurting. Now that he was back in his bed he couldn't be happier. Sometimes the simplest of things could be the best.

He sat up taking notice that Draco was also awake and looking at them. Harry gave a small wave. The Slytherin just stared at him.

"I'm taking it Aderes brought me up here?" He asked and Draco nodded. "Good. Sleeping on stone isn't the most comfortable bed."

"Why were you on stone?" Draco asked. He motioned for the door and Harry climbed out of bed to follow him. When they were out of the dorm and on the stairs Harry felt safe to talk without waking anyone up.

"He's pretty pissed Dumbledore didn't see his apparation test. I thought he was going to cast an unforgiveable at him."

"Probably not good for him to be mad at the headmaster," Draco pointed out. They took the two big comfy chairs in the common room then, thankfully it was still empty.

"Of course it's not. Try telling that to him though. I did and he fell asleep on me."

"True, once he has something in his head…" Draco let the words hang, but Harry knew what he meant. Once the heir had come to some kind of conclusion, getting him to change that opinion was hard.

"I guess in the end it will be down to an apology unless Dumbledore really was there," Harry said shrugging. And while that was the only way Harry could see this being settled, he didn't like the idea. There was no telling how far the heir might take the apology or if he'd even accept it to begin with. "I don't know what to do. I guess this is one of those situations where it's between them."

"He'll burn the school down, you know that."

"I'd rather not think about it. And what's worse is now I have to deal with both memories. Dumbledore has them both now and I need to see both of them. Aderes' is going to be pissed once he finds out I've seen Slughorn's."

"He knows you need to see it."

"I think he should see it too, but I'm not pushing my luck," he muttered closing his eyes. Could his luck get any worse? Maybe the heir would sleep the entire day and he wouldn't have to worry about anything. There was always that off chance that once Tom woke up he'd spend his entire day doing everything he could to drive the headmaster up a wall.

Not wanting to really think about it anymore Harry started up the topic of Quidditch. Even if he couldn't have a peaceful day he could at least have a somewhat normal conversation before being dragged into a complete state of hell by his so called boyfriend.

His peace didn't last long however. Hermione came into the common room an hour later handing Harry a folded piece of parchment. The Gryffindor let out a groan and slipped it into his pocket without giving it another look, Hermione glaring at him.

"It's from Dumbledore," she said as if Harry didn't already know.

"I'm well aware. I know that I have a meeting with the headmaster this week and that it's going to be a nightmare trying to get Aderes to go with me. Actually I'm more worried that Aderse might go with and destroy the place or this is just some sad plot to…Aderes is in bed isn't it?"

"How would I know?" Draco asked. "I haven't left this room."

"Great." The Gryffindor was nearly killing himself to get up the stairs then. It hadn't occurred to him that his boyfriend pretending to be asleep could be his way of getting Harry out of the room so he could sneak out and kill the headmaster while he was away. It would be just like him to then fake a letter to Harry for a meeting, have the poor Gryffindor find Dumbledore's lifeless body on the floor, and somehow get away with doing it.

Needless to say Harry let out a sigh of relief when he opened the dorm room and found his boyfriend still fast asleep curled up around a pillow. He walked into the room shutting the door and sat down on his bed looking down at his boyfriend.

"I can't even trust you while you're asleep," he said bluntly. Of course the heir said nothing and Harry fell sideways onto the bed closing his eyes once his head hit his pillow. "At least I won't have to cover up a crime scene…or watch you do it again." He let out another sigh wondering if his boyfriend would ever be normal. He didn't have to be perfectly normal, just normal enough to make Harry's life less frustrating.

(X)

"Wake up."

Harry's eyes slid open slowly. He realized he must have fallen back asleep on the bed, because his boyfriend was now lying on top of him looking mildly annoyed.

"What time is it?"

"You slept all day. We have a D.A. meeting," Draco said folding his arms across his chest. "And since you're the teacher…." The Slytherin let the words hang, but Harry knew exactly what his friend was getting at. Things had gone smoothly letting Hermione run the class, but she had already told Harry she'd only be doing it for emergencies.

"I'm coming," he said trying to sit up. The attempt failed completely however with his boyfriend putting all his strength it seemed into keeping the Gryffindor pinned. "Tom, I have to get up. You should be coming too."

"Maybe," the heir said quietly.

"D.A. has…right the name. Will you get up anyway?" Harry scolded his boyfriend giving another shove. The heir didn't even budge. Growling Harry looked to Draco who just shrugged at him causing the Gryffindor to groan. "Will you get off?"

"I thought you enjoyed me on top of you," the heir said simply, Harry's face turning red.

"I do when you aren't being a git."

The heir seemed to think that over, shrugged and finally released Harry. Knowing how bi polar his boyfriend was, Harry was quick to get out of the bed and get behind Draco. The heir looked at them then after sitting up in the bed and smirked.

"You think Draco won't throw you back to me on my command?"

"If he doesn't want to explain to Hermione why I'm not at D.A. tonight he will."

"The only reason I let you go," Tom said letting out a sigh, a hand going through his hair. "Okay, I'll change and meet you down there."

"Alright." Harry wasn't sure if it was smart to let the heir walk down by himself or not. One look at Draco though had the Slytherin nodding and he leaned against the bedpost. Harry mouthed the words thank you and left.

Harry didn't really understand how he could have possibly slept the entire day, even if he had slept on the floor for a few hours the night before. It wasn't like he hadn't slept at all, it just hadn't been comfortable. Harry didn't really have time to think about it though. Hermione and Ron had already left by the time he was in the common room. He muttered a curse and ended up running the whole way to the room of requirements. He was breathing hard by the time he got there and had to catch his breath before he could start teaching the class.

"Sorry," he said when he finally had himself together. "I fell asleep, had to run to get here," he said trying to laugh. It only made him start coughing though so he stopped and waited until he was sure he could breathe. "Alright. I know O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s will be starting soon for some of you. Is there anything anyone needs practice on that falls into that category?" It seemed like it would be wrong to not offer help with those tests after all the stress he had gone through the year before. He wasn't sure about N.E.W.T.s, but he was pretty sure Tom would.

One of the fifth year students raised their hands then.

"I heard we have to perform counter jinxes."

"You do," Harry said raising an eyebrow. They'd studied counter jinxes a lot in this class. There was no way anyone was having problems with them.

"Do you think that Professor Snape will…-"

"Snape won't be giving the test," Tom said coming in and taking his spot beside Harry. "The ministry, which isn't any better, will be the ones conducting the test. Also, the ministry sets the test, not the school teachers. He can tell you whatever he wants, he has no say so."

The girl looked extremely relieved and started talking to a few of her friends.

"Any other questions? " Harry asked looking around. A couple of seventh years raised their hands then. Harry looked to Tom pleading, the heir sighing.

"Yes?" Tom asked looking at them.

"We have to do human transfiguration," one of the Gryffindor boys said.

"And?" Tom asked.

"It's disturbing," another one of them said.

"So make it less disturbing. Is there a certain thing you have to transfiguration someone into?" The boys nodded and Tom muttered a curse. "I'll help them out," he told Harry. The Gryffindor grabbed his arm and handed him a blueberry scone. The heir stared at him for a second before taking it. "Thanks."

"You missed all three meals," Harry said frowning. "You're not sick are you?"

"No," he said walking off towards the group.

"I'll help," Hermione chimed in.

Harry just shook his head glad that Hermione would be there to help them and turned his attention back to the other grades. While he somewhat interested in learning or at least watching what his boyfriend was doing, he knew if the seventh years were finding the transfiguration disturbing, there would be no way the younger ones could stomach it.

"Okay, so the rest of us are just going to go over O.W.L. requirements. It's never too early to start learning and I think every fifth year could use some extra practice so they don't panic during the exam.

The practice started and to Harry's slight annoyance, the heir had a separate room show up for the practice of the transfiguration. He was tempted more than once to poke his head in and see what was going on, but every time he tried to get close someone else would need his help with a spell. By the time he had actually gotten close enough to put his hand on the door knob, Tom and Hermione were walking out of the room, the seventh years following behind them. Hermione looked quite pale, Tom bored.

"Was it that bad?" He asked Hermione who gave a small nod and walked away. Harry was sure she was going to puke, because another room appeared and Hermione ran into it without another word. Draco motioned for Harry and the Gryffindor gave up on getting any information from anyone. "Yeah?"

"Some of the students are having issues with potions. They want to know if we can practice that next week."

"Potions? This is defense magic…"

"Well, potions can be used for defense," Draco started.

"I can barely pass potions. Who's going to be running that lesson?"

"We could ask Snape," Draco suggested. "He'd do it for me."

"And Slughorn," Harry said an idea forming in his head. "If they are both in here trying to outdo themselves they'll not only both show up, they'll work hard at it."

"I'll talk to Snape tomorrow after defense class," Draco said. "Go deal with that."

Harry didn't need to ask what that was, because as soon as he turned around, he was met with his boyfriend staring at him.

"What was that about?"

"Some of the students are having issues with potions. We're going to get Snape and Slughorn as guests for the next meeting."

"Sure they won't kill each other?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow.

"Hoping they won't, not too worried if they do," Harry grinned at him.

(X)

"Dumbledore wants us back at his office tonight, no doubt to finish what we didn't last week."

"I don't care about that," the heir said instantly.

Harry took a calming breath and readied himself. He'd known beforehand that getting his boyfriend back into that office wasn't going to be easy, but he had to do something. Tom couldn't ignore his step -father the rest of his life, plus they were learning all this stuff so they could destroy Voldemort, didn't that mean anything to the heir anymore?

"Maybe you two can make up?"

"I want nothing to do with this," he hissed rolling over on the bed and wrapping himself up in the blanket, his back to the Gryffindor. "If he wants to apologize he needs to come here and do it."

"Really? This is how you're going to act?"

"You wouldn't understand," the heir snapped.

"You're right, I wouldn't. I didn't have a dad to get mad at," Harry said climbing off the bed. He saw the heir freeze at his words and felt a bit of satisfaction. "I know when I get mad at Sirius though or even you, I try to get the fighting over with as soon as possible. I learned well enough last year not everyone survives long enough for apologies to wait."

That being said he turned on his heel and left the dorm. He could easily tell from the bond that despite the heir's shame he was still too angered to step foot in the headmaster's office. It was then that Harry decided while he wanted the two to make up, it wasn't going to be happening any time soon.

Regardless of what his boyfriend wanted however, Harry did need to see that memory or some memory about what was going on and figure out what exactly it was the headmaster had to say. Perhaps if Dumbledore had a sure way of taking down Voldemort the heir would be thrilled and come running back? That seemed like something Tom would do. I t was as good a plan as any.

"I'm going," Harry told his friends in case the heir came down pouting. "My idiot boyfriend is refusing to come with. If he starts throwing a fit let him know I'm not mad at him?" Ron gave a small nod. Harry knew that would be the only reply he'd get and left the tower.

It felt weird heading to Dumbledore's office alone. It was peaceful that was for sure, perhaps he could even get the headmaster to hand over some more of his fourth year memories since the chance of the heir walking in was extremely low. As long as they finished what needed to be done, why not?

When he made it into Dumbledore's office he figured the headmaster must be out of sorts. Fwakes was crying and by the looks of his food bowl had not been fed any time recently, there were papers scattered everywhere, the portraits were yelling at one another, and the headmaster was nowhere to be seen. When the phoenix spotted Harry it gave a long loud squawk, almost like a whine, and landed on the headmaster's desk.

"Do you know where your food is?" Harry asked. 'Tom, a little help here. Th—' before he even managed to think the words "bird food", their bond went shut. Twitching the Gryffindor looked around when he noticed Fwakes was no longer on the desk and was relieved to see him pecking at a cabinet. Harry walked over quickly opening it and upon finding the bag of food poured some into the bird's bowl. "You're welcome," he said happily. At least someone wouldn't die that night. "Professor?" Harry called out then.

"Harry! Is it that time already? Just a moment!"

The Gryffindor had no idea where the headmaster was, but he sat down on the chair and waited. If anything it seemed like the safest of choices given the chaos the room was in. Perhaps the headmaster didn't really want him there to learn, but rather to help clean up his office? For a fleeting second Harry worried that his boyfriend had caused this mess then realized if it had been his boyfriend, the damage would have been much worse.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, no," the headmaster said. Harry nearly jumped, the headmaster had come from somewhere behind him, which had been the last thing he'd expected. The only thing behind the chair was the door and some book shelves. "I see Tom didn't come with." Despite the words Harry could tell the headmaster was hurt by that.

"He's still sore," Harry admitted. "He wants you to apologize," he added.

"Perhaps I shall," the headmaster said at length. "If I ever manage to catch him." He smiled then and took his usual seat. "I'm grateful you came though. I trust Tom didn't try to stop you?"

"No…I think he understands I need to see this memory."

"Wonderful. I wouldn't want him coming in here while I'm showing it to you and he tries to burn the room down." The headmaster had said it so cheerfully Harry hoped he knew that it could really happen. After knowing his boyfriend for so long, he wouldn't put anything past him anymore. In fact, the burning down of the headmaster's office would probably be lenient.

"Um sure, if there's any time…since there's a really good chance Tom won't be sneaking in here…do you think I could see another memory from my fourth year?"

"We shall see. While I have nothing against such a thing, with that bond of yours it may be an issue."

"He shut it when I asked him where Fwakes' food was," Harry said.

"Oh my, thank you Harry!" Dumbledore said looking to the phoenix. "I'm sorry Fwakes. Things have just been so busy." The phoenix screeched at him, the headmaster bowing his head slightly. "I suppose I do deserve that."

"And he might get mad, but maybe if we do it, he'll be worried you'll keep showing me memories every time he doesn't come," Harry suggested.

"Or he'll merely come in here and kill me," Dumbledore countered.

"Do you really think he'd do that?" Harry pressed.

"I suppose if it wasn't one of the more troubling memories," the headmaster smiled. "Now then, our main concern for the night is Slughorn's memory. I know the topic of Horcruxes have come up during previous talks. We mentioned that they are really dark creations."

"Tom mentioned they were created by killing someone. The problem was we didn't know how many he had made. He'd kill so many people…."

"Yes, but to keep one's mind about, Tom and I agreed it must be enough to cause a human transmutation while at the same time not enough to make him lose his mind."

"That makes sense…I'm going to guess that the ministry never had a study on how many times it takes your soul to be ripped apart before you no longer look like a human, but still think like one." The headmaster smiled brightly at that and nodded.

"Nor would I ever expect them to."

"Then what," Harry asked frowning. "We're back to where we left off the last time."

"Actually, we're not," Dumbledore said. "Now I doubt Tom told you, but while I was working with him we often talked about things. I have to admit even I was stumped until I remembered something that both of them seemed obsessed with."

"Sir?" Harry asked frowning slightly.

"What went missing after that poor witch died, Tom's grandfather? What is it that Tom wears on his finger despite the engagement ring you bought him?"

"Heirlooms," Harry said instantly.

"Yes. And from the memories and what I can find, it seems like there aren't that many around. Those that were known to be real heirlooms have gone missing."

"Sir…what if he's using a life elixir like the philosophers stone?"

"You know, Tom mentioned that too."

"I asked him about it, he wasn't sure," Harry said.

"Ah well, I'll tell you what I told him then since he doesn't seem to have been nice enough to inform you. An elixir is not permanent. For it to work one must drink it again and again. If you do not keep up with it or your source runs out, then the person will still die."

"Right…"

"Now, I will merely tell you. We are already so well into our conversation, why show you the memory? Voldemort mentions the number seven in the memory. He asks Slughorn if he believed seven, as the supposedly strongest magical number, would be the best number of times to split his soul into."

"Seven?" Harry asked in horror. "I was thinking four at worse. How are we going to find all these objects? Would…are they going to have some effect on Tom?" he asked then fear setting in. "Is this going to kill him? He's not really a Horcrux is he," the Gryffindor asked quickly. "I don't think…no I couldn't kill him."

"Relax Harry. I admit I was a bit worried myself, but no. Tom has nothing to do with the Horcruxes, I promise you. When someone splits their soul, that bit that is gone is locked away, it's never changing. It remains a fragment of that person and nothing more. While it may have the ability to think, as I'm sure you're well aware from the chamber of secrets, I do not believe it is capable of being human."

"But…it's just like that isn't it?" He asked pulling the necklace out. "This thing trapped Tom in it and when Voldemort was around. What if he actually…"

"Horcruxes do not age," Dumbledore said simply. "And we can see well enough that Tom has indeed aged from toddler into the monster he is now."

"Right…" For the first time ever Harry wanted to destroy the necklace. Not because he was mad at his boyfriend, but because he felt like if he destroyed it and his boyfriend was alright it would prove he wasn't just a memory of Voldemort. "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight," he admitted.

"Rest assured. If Voldemort did in fact choose seven, then there are six pieces out of his body, and one within him. And thanks to you we are already down to five and thanks to Tom, we are down to four."

"Alright, so…how do we find the locket then and the cup? What about the other ones?"

"Well. After much thought and agonizing talks with Tom, we may have over looked something. Do you remember Nagini?" the headmaster asked.

"The snake?" Harry said frowning. "Is that…even possible?"

"While even more inadvisable than splitting your soul to begin with, yes. It is possible to turn an animal into a Horcrux though very dangerous. Nagini we both agreed is a very odd snake. Voldemort keeps her quite close and seems to have amazing control over her. It would surprise me a great deal if she were not."

"Okay, so we need to kill the snake," Harry said hoping his boyfriend wasn't against such a thing. "And...we're guessing the other Horcruxes belong to the school founders then?"

"Yes. That's what we believe. If it is true or not, who knows, but it's as good a start as any for our search."

(TBC)

Okay, a bit of jumping around here. Sorry.


	51. A Turn of Events

Okay so heading into the next chapter.

Warnings: Slash, it's shonen ai. Get over it.

Notes: (X) IS pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 51: A Turn of Events

"So…once we destroy all the Horcruxes we can kill him for good? Tom and I can finally live a normal life?"

"As normal as a life with Tom can be," the headmaster said a hint of a smile on his face.

"I want to help," Harry said instantly. "Anything you need. I want this to end." To even think there was a small chance of getting freed from the hell that was Voldemort was thrilling to Harry. That he may finally be able to leave Hogwarts or number twelve on a date or just to head out to the store without having to worry every few seconds about his life almost seemed unreal. Could such a future really be out there for him?

"I can only imagine," Dumbledore said. "For now however there is not much to do. I must locate the other ones before we can possibly do anything."

"Right." It was of course the only answer there could be. Dumbledore would have already destroyed the objects if he knew where they were and they couldn't possibly destroy something they didn't have. That didn't stop the Gryffindor from being frustrated though. The pieces of Voldemort's soul could be anywhere. He could even have the death eaters possibly moving them from time to time. If that was the case it would be even worse. "So, we have a start, but we're still pretty far behind."

"Quite."

"And there's no way we can use Tom to get…what about me?" Harry asked then. "I know you were against it last year, but couldn't you use my bond with Voldemort to figure out—"

"Absolutely not," the headmaster said, his head shaking from side to side. "I would never allow for such a thing. It would no doubt get us nowhere and how did it end last year?" Dumbledore asked.

"Right," the Gryffindor muttered. He knew it wasn't the safest of ideas he just wanted to help. Granted, he didn't exactly help by following that little bond the year before, why would this year be any different? There had to be some way they could speed up the search so he could focus on his schooling and more importantly his boyfriend. "I want to see those memories of fourth year," Harry started standing up. "But I think right now my time might be better spent explaining to my boyfriend what he missed. Maybe he has some ideas about where Voldemort might have hidden some of those objects."

"You can try. I've asked him myself and he denies any knowledge, but perhaps he'll be willing to tell you."

Harry gave a small shrug at that and left the office. He couldn't get himself to tell the headmaster that his boyfriend trusted him the least of everyone in the entire school most of the time. Tom's random acts of trust were usually only followed by his random acts of screw ups.

"I wish he did trust me," he said quietly. They had, had so many fights over trust, so many problems. He was in front of the portrait before he finally allowed himself to lean against the wall and let out a long sigh. How could he approach all this? He didn't even know if Tom was going to listen to what Dumbledore had told him let alone if the heir knew anything about the locations of the objects.

He knew he wasn't about to get any results from standing outside the common room though. Muttering one last curse he said the password and stepped into the Gryffindor tower. When he got into the common room he wasn't surprised to find his boyfriend sitting alone in one of the chairs by the window.

"Tell me everyone just went to bed," he said expecting the worst. His boyfriend had a knack for driving everyone off after all. When his boyfriend said nothing Harry walked over to where he was at. He couldn't help smiling then when he saw that his boyfriend had fallen asleep by the window, once again. He didn't think he could lift his boyfriend up, but he knew if he left him down there he'd never hear the end of it. "Wake up," he said poking his boyfriend gently on the shoulder blade. "It's not even that late." Still getting nothing he grabbed his boyfriend's arm and tugged on it. "Hey, get up."

"It's too early to get up."

"It's not even ten," Harry countered tugging on him again. "Come on. If you want to sleep you might as well do it in our bed."

"I was waiting for you."

"I know and I appreciate it, but you're just going to be sore in the morning if you sleep here. Come on." The heir groaned, but he complied getting out of the chair. He dropped his head on Harry's shoulder, his eyes closed already. Harry had no choice, but to lead him to the dorm. "You're fine."

"I know I'm just mad…and tired…and…everything."

"It's called being depressed."

"I am not depressed," the heir growled.

"You are too," Harry scolded him. "You are sad and frustrated about your fight with Dumbledore. He's not happy either you know. He wants all of this to be over with too."

"Then he should apologi-"

"Or maybe you two should just stop being stubborn and pretend the fight never happened. Just tell him why you're really angry and then maybe he will apologize. He can't read your mind like I can!" Harry said finally. He was glad they were still in the stairway and alone. He often forgot that everyone in the school didn't know about their little bond and even though their friends' did, their knowledge was still rather limited.

"I know he can't read my mind," the heir said staring at Harry. "I don't expect him to. I just want him to act like a real father once in a while…"

"Well. Father's mess up all the time and forget things, miss out on things. If anything Dumbledore's missing your test was more father like than him showing up."

"You're mad," the heir said looking away.

"Less mad than you are," Harry muttered shoving open the door. The heir walked in by himself suddenly awake it seemed and Harry followed. "I don't want us fighting," Harry added when it looked like the heir was going to start something. "You know that right? I want you two to be on good terms again. You need to go over our discussion today," Harry told him. He changed his clothes before climbing into the bed, Tom jumping in beside him. "There were some really important things that we went over."

"I don't care."

"You do care. It has to do with killing Voldemort," he said flatly. To hell if anyone in the tower heard him. "If you refuse to come with me to the meetings, then you're going to use the bond to watch them. Pick my memory like you always do. Just make sure you stay on top of everything."

"I probably already know more than you just learned."

"Humor me," Harry growled at him. "Or I'm going to climb into bed besides Draco and Ron." The heir growled back at him for that, but Harry felt the bond reopen and relaxed. Even if his boyfriend was being difficult, he always enjoyed having it open. "By the way," Harry said opening one of his eyes. "You cut me off earlier. You better hope Fwakes forgives you too. If he didn't know where his food was he might have starved thanks to you."

"What?"

"Dumbledore forgot to feed Fwakes. I was trying to ask you where his food was and that's when you so nicely decided to shut the bond."

"Sorry." He wrapped his arms around Harry tightly then. "I'm…not used to any of this," he admitted finally. "I always act like I'm mad at Dumbledore or pretend to not care…."

"I know you care though," Harry said. "That's why I want the two of you to make up."

"Maybe…" He closed his eyes tightly and all Harry could do was hold him back. How could he possibly push the heir any more for the night? He was already stressed out, he'd agreed in his own way to read Harry's memory to get an idea of what was going on, that alone was a miracle. He didn't want to push his luck and decided that was more than enough. He was completely content with his boyfriend at least agreeing to that, he'd push for more later on.

'Just watch or read, whatever it is you do….Dumbledore is trying to find a way to give us a normal life you know. He wants Voldemort dead as much as we do. We may have a start and we both want your input.'

The heir nodded saying nothing. Of course a few minutes later he was asleep. Harry started laughing at that point. He should have known his boyfriend would go right back to sleep. He decided he'd just force the memory on his boyfriend tomorrow and allowed himself to drift off as well. What good would it do his boyfriend anyway trying to watch a memory while his real focus remained on trying to stay awake? Tomorrow would be much better.

(X)

Morning came all too soon as far as Harry was concerned and from the looks of the heir beside him, his boyfriend as well. They had charms that morning so there was no choice to sleep in, not that Harry didn't wish there was. He changed quickly so he could eat breakfast before running off to class and was nearly out the door when he realized something was wrong. Despite changing and running around his boyfriend hadn't said a single word to him.

Blinking he slowly turned his head to look towards Tom just to see that his boyfriend had thrown a pillow over his head and had already rewrapped himself up in the blanket.

"I understand you're tired, but we have class," Harry said walking back towards the bed. "And I don't really get why…" his voice trailed off as he removed the pillow and felt his boyfriend's hair. It was soaked in sweat the rest of his body seemed to be as well, not to mention bright red. "You have a fever."

"I'm fine," the heir muttered. "I just want a few more minutes of sleep."

"Your body is as hot as mine was after I was burned. You need to go down to the infirmary,' the Gryffindor said firmly.

"I need to take notes, get ready for that test next week," he said sitting up. He looked like he was about to fall back down onto the bed though and it took everything Harry had not to get back in the bed and hold him up.

"Hermione will be taking notes. You need rest or you won't even be awake for that test next week," Harry pointed out. The heir muttered something and climbed out of the bed. He managed to dress himself just fine and walked out of the room, Harry rolling his eyes at his back. When he'd waited a few minutes to see if his boyfriend was coming back he let out a sigh and grabbed the two book bags. He made it down the steps and dropped the bag in front of his boyfriend silently an eyebrow raised.

"What," The heir asked defensively. He had a piece of toast shoved in his mouth already and was in the middle of spreading jam on another one.

"You forgot your bag. For someone so worried about taking notes you seemed to forget you need paper to do so."

"I'm fine," the heir hissed again.

"Hermione, Ron, Draco. Please, look at him, does he look okay? He's running a fever."

"He was tossing a lot last night," Draco started going silent when Tom glared at him.

"Just because you think you're immortal, you're not. If you don't take care of this from the start you'll just end up more sick."

"I'll be fine. I'm just thirsty."

"If you get any worse you are going to the infirmary." What Harry really wanted to say was, after classes were over he would be going, but from the looks of his boyfriend he might pass out in a class anyway so he and Draco could drag his unconscious body to the infirmary without having to hear a single complaint.

"I'm sure this will clear up by tomorrow," the heir tried to assure him.

"Like last year?" Harry asked taking a seat and grabbing a pumpkin muffin. "That worked real well. You pushed yourself so hard you ended up back in the necklace to restore your strength. Can you even do that anymore if that happens again?"

"Maybe, I don't know,' the heir growled. "It doesn't matter right now though, because I'm okay. I was just hot from being wrapped up in all the blankets and you holding onto me!"

"Whatever," Harry muttered. While he wanted his boyfriend to go get checked out, he didn't want to push him either to cause him to get worse.

Breakfast was eaten in silence then, none of the five friends wishing to break the silence with fear of a fight starting. The only time anything was said when Ron motioned to Tom and Harry realized the heir had forgotten to put his shoes on. After that mess was taken care of the five headed down to charm's class. Hermione instantly went to taking notes as usually, Harry telling Draco and Ron what he'd learn from Dumbledore. Of course Hermione and Tom were listening from time to time, but Harry had a feeling he'd been retelling them later. Hermione was more focused on the notes than them and Tom seemed to have his attention everywhere, but their reality.

In fact, the Gryffindor grew more concerned by the moment after Professor Flitwick had given them glass flasks of vinegar to turn into wine and his boyfriend was merely poking the container.

When the class ended and his boyfriend hadn't even attempted the spell once, Harry packed his things up and moved towards Hermione.

"Make sure he makes it to the common room and gets some sleep before we go back to class. With the shape he's in, I doubt he'll even notice I'm missing."

"If he goes on a rampage—"

"He shouldn't. I don't think he has the energy for it," Harry said frowning. "I'll make it quick," he promised her. She gave him a small nod and walked towards Tom asking him something about the charm's lesson. The heir had the most stumped look on his face and Harry knew it was for his boyfriend's own good then.

"Stop," Harry ordered Draco the second they were out of the room. He managed to get the Slytherin away from his boyfriend and pinned to the wall, there three friends heading for the tower none the wiser.

"What?" Draco demanded shoving Harry off of him. "You could have just asked me to stop—"

"I don't have time for that. What's up with Aderes?" He asked bluntly. No sense in beating around the bush. "His body was having problem's adapting last year around this time too. He got sick, he couldn't even make it out of the necklace and it's happening again now. What's going on?" he demanded.

"Why would I know something like that?" Draco asked, but Harry wasn't buying it.

"Because he trusts you with everything. You're his best mate. I've never seen him too sick to study. How do I fix this?"

"It just has to run its course," Draco said starting to head down the hall, Harry followed after him quickly.

"So you do know what's wrong!" He seethed. "What is it? Did he do something to put a strain on his body?"

"Well, sort of," Draco snickered.

"It's not funny," Harry snapped. "He's sick."

"He's changing," the Slytherin corrected him. "The last time he collapsed was from not allowing his body to age appropriately. "

"…I'm not going to wake up and find him at forty years old or something am I?" Harry asked a knot forming in his stomach. As much as he loved his boyfriend he wouldn't be able to deny how awkward it would be to share a bed with him if he looked thirty years older than he was.

"No," Draco said starting to laugh. "He's just so worried about his looks all the time that he doesn't like to age. He ends up fighting it. Sometimes it's just hard on his body to grow after spending so many years in a suspended time. Think of it as a growth spurt."

"He's already taller than I am," Harry muttered. He was glad that it didn't seem like his boyfriend was going to die any time soon and now more in the annoyed stage thinking the heir's state may be his own fault. Even so the Gryffindor couldn't deny the worry being lifted from his shoulders. "I'm glad you told me though. Thanks."

"It wasn't like it was a big secret. Well, I guess that fool likes to keep everything a secret from you."

Harry glared, but nodded. It was the truth, no sense in denying it, especially not to the person who was actually trusted with all of his boyfriend's secrets.

(X)

It had been a week since his boyfriend had started acting sick. He didn't look any different from what Harry could tell and despite the Gryffindor's attempts at getting the heir to go to the infirmary or tell Dumbledore, nothing had come from it. He wasn't sure what he could do with the heir being so stubborn.

The week had gone on though and that night happened to be the D.A. lesson with Snape and Slughorn. Harry had attempted to get his boyfriend to just go to sleep, but the heir had refused as always and was silently following behind him.

"Do you know what potions they're going to be teaching?" Hermione asked, no doubt an attempt to break the silence. She'd been opening her mouth from time to time without actually saying anything before finally getting something out.

"I'm hoping whatever it is the other students need help with," Harry admitted. "I'd hate to think the two of them are just going to spend the entire time trying to outdo themselves making the most difficult potion they possibly can."

"I think you're hoping for too much," Tom said as they entered the room of requirements.

"I'm sure I am," Harry agreed. If anything though, Harry couldn't see how this was a bad idea. He'd be able to merely sit and watch for once while allowing the two teachers to run everything. At least if everything went well that's all he'd have to do. He could also take advantage of the situation and try to get his boyfriend to rest.

First thing was first though. The two teachers were standing in a corner glaring at each other silently. Harry walked over to the front of the group raising his hand to get the students to be silent.

"Hi everyone," he said and waited a second for everyone to return the greeting. "Last time a few students were worried about the potion's part of their O. exam. I just scraped by in Potions, so instead of trying to guess, we just asked Professor Snape and Professor Slughorn to come in and help. I hope everyone pays close attention and gets all that they can out of this."

He motioned to the two instructors to come forward and took a seat down on the floor beside everyone else. He'd definitely need help of his own and there was no point in pretending to teach something he barely understood.

"You will be divided up into groups based on your grades and then into smaller groups who you will work with to create certain potions. Both of us have gone over your grades and decided what would be the best potion for you to work on during this time," Snape explained. As he did numerous tables with cauldrons appeared, each of them with ingredients and other potion tools.

"If you have any other questions related to Potions, feel free to ask us," Slughorn said loudly. "Let the fun begin."

The other students didn't seem to know whether or not this would be fun, but they followed the instructions any way. Each table had a glowing number above it, such as 5-A to show that it would be for the fifth year student, and whoever group A was. As well, the same number and letters randomly appeared above each student. Harry was sure one of the teacher's must have a death wish, because Tom and he were not in the same group.

_Maybe he's still so out of it, he won't even notice it, _Harry thought shaking his head slightly. On the other hand, if the heir did notice, he would probably be too out of it to do much besides walk over to Harry and fall asleep.

Everyone began sorting themselves according to the numbers and letters and waited for instructions.

"Now begin," Snape said.

Harry was about to ask "begin what", when he noticed that a piece of paper with a potion recipe was in now on his table. He picked it up scanning the contents and wished he'd brought his potion's book, because he doubted Tom was going to be of any help. His two group mates, Neville of all people, and a fourth year Hufflepuff boy he had only seen twice at the D.A. meetings were looking at him pleadingly. He knew instantly this was not going to go well.

"Right, so um. Neville and…?"

"Andrew."

"Andrew," Harry said hoping the younger student wasn't offended. "I'm going to read off the list of ingredients and how much we'll need. Your job will be to measure it out correctly. We'll worry about mixing and adding things together later."

"Sounds good," Neville said looking a bit relived.

Harry was just glad that he'd paid enough attention to his boyfriend to be able to get this far.

"So, our potion is probably really simple. I'm not the brightest with potions and I know you aren't either Neville. Andrew?" The boy shook his head furiously. "Right. So we're going to take this slow and do what we can. We need one set of fairy wings, one measure of doxy eggs, dragonfly thoraxes, three more measures of doxy eggs, some more dragonfly thoraxes, and…three flying seahorses," he said frowning at the last bit. "A fourth year potion? Really?" he shook his head setting the ingredient list down. He knew he wasn't the best potion maker, but he could at least mange something on the O.W.L. list.

(X)

"Are you alright?"

"Fine." No sooner had the words left his mouth did Tom nearly lose the contents of his stomach. He gripped the side of the table hard, sweat pouring down his face. He felt dizzy and wished he could spot his boyfriend amongst everyone else in the crowd. The room of requirements seemed to understand instantly, because soon his boyfriend was looking rather shocked from across the room surrounded by blue flames. There were a few yelps of shock, not that the heir cared.

"Is there a reason Potter's on fire then?" Draco asked raising an eyebrow. His expression toured sour when he got a better look at Tom. "You need to go to the infirmary."

"No," he growled. "I'm fine, just a bit tired."

"Then go to bed. It's not like you need these lessons."

True as the words were, the heir wasn't there, because he needed lessons. He was there to keep an eye on his boyfriend. Even so he'd been in such a daze he'd somehow managed to go a good ten minutes without realizing Harry wasn't even in his group. Not that that exactly surprised him given the rules the professors had set.

Instead of giving his friend an answer though he started towards the flaming outline that belonged to his loved one. To his relief he made it over to Harry without falling over, but nearly collapsed into his boyfriend's arm once he did. The Gryffindor yelled something, but he ignored it his eyes closing as he slumped forward.

(X)

"So you're telling me this has nothing to do with him aging." Harry was currently sitting in the infirmary in a chair besides his boyfriend's bed. Tom had managed to pass out in the middle of the D.A. meeting, a room he was beginning to wonder if was possibly cursed. "So Draco lied."

"I believe the correct answer is, Tom lied. I've spoken with Mister Malfoy, he was just as shocked to hear about Tom's state as you were."

"Bloody git," Harry muttered looking away from the sleeping form. "The truth is professor, he doesn't trust me. He hardly ever tells me anything, but he tends to tell Draco everything…I just thought if Draco didn't think it was a big deal…."

"Harry, I assure you, this is no one's fault, but Tom's alone. Now that he is here in the infirmary, he will get the treatment he needs."

"Right, well…thank you. I don't know if I should hit him or leave him alone in here."

"I prefer to see the school standing if you don't mind," Dumbledore said smiling. "I hope you'll stay here with him."

"Of course I'm staying," Harry said shaking his head. "What else am I going to do? I can't sleep unless he's next to me. I'll never be able to focus on my classes with him in here. I know we break every school rule remaining with each other constantly in the infirmary, but…"

"I would expect no less," the headmaster said.

The he was gone and Harry was left to glare at his boyfriend again. It seemed somewhere along the line the heir had gotten sick. If he'd just gone to the infirmary to begin with he would have been fine. As it turned out, the fool had contracted bronchitis since he hadn't dealt with it sooner enough and it had neared pneumonia.

"I just don't understand you. Why didn't you just drag me to the infirmary with you and get this taken care of?" He knew asking was pointless, his boyfriend was out cold not only from the fever that'd taken him down during the D.A. meeting, but the medicine Madam Pomfrey had basically poured down his throat. "And you even lied to Draco this time." He really didn't get why his boyfriend had taken such a turn to even avoid telling Draco. He had truly though if anything ever went wrong, Draco would be the first to know.

"And too push yourself so hard. You could destroy your body doing stupid things like this you know," he added glaring at the sleeping form. "Is that what you want? To be stuck in a shadow form with no physical alternative? I'll never be able to properly sleep beside you again. I'll have to go find a new boyfriend." He knew he was lying through his teeth about the last part, but that didn't stop him from saying it. A threat like that usually had his boyfriend ripping into him, but there was still no sign of movement on the heir's side.

Harry let out a sigh and climbed into the bed next to the heir. It was late, he could yell and mutter curses at his boyfriend all night, but he doubted he would wake up any time soon. There was no point in keeping himself awake just to rant. He kept telling himself maybe his boyfriend had a good reason for keeping his health a secret. Perhaps he just didn't know? It had been years since the heir had, had a physical form and the first time that Harry could remember him actually being sick.

"I just don't want to lose you," he added once he was under the covers and had his arms around the heir. "I want you to be okay, and to get better. The nurse said it should only be a few days. Then you better explain to everyone why you are such an arse and hiding everything."

(X)

Morning arrived as it always did. Harry was awake and ready to confront his boyfriend only to realize he was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful, much more so than he had the past few nights that the Gryffindor couldn't get himself to wake him up. So instead he removed himself from the bed and then the infirmary so he could get some food from the Great Hall. If his boyfriend was going to sleep constantly, maybe he should just go to his classes too.

The thought set uneasily on him, he didn't like the idea of going to his classes without Tom attached to his arm, but it wasn't like he'd never done it before. He was good enough, he could manage. And his boyfriend too could probably manage to kill everyone if he woke up and found Harry missing from his beside.

Shaking his head Harry decided breakfast with his friends was no longer that big a deal. There would be food in the infirmary and he was sure Hermione would take great notes and bring homework. Then the entire population of witches and wizards could live another day and Harry could still stay on top of his classes.

"You're really high maintenance you know that?" Harry muttered sitting down in the chair he'd been in the night before. There really wasn't much to do there. If he got lucky maybe someone would drop off some of his homework or a book. He never thought he'd ever be yearning for a book, but at this point anything beat just sitting and waiting for his boyfriend to wake up.

TBC

Okay, there. Finally. So, what happened? Well. Let's see. I did start a new job, which had me working almost 6 days a week for training purposes for almost a month or so. During that time, BOTH of my computers crashed. That's right. My desktop and laptop both died. The odd thing is, both died from two completely different things. So it took a while before I could not only purchase a new computer, but actually get the story chapters backed up. I was scared I'd lost all my chapters. Luckily they were saved. By the time I got all of that back, school started. So I've been trying to balance school, work, and writing. I'm sure it'll get better. Or I hope it will.


	52. An Innocent Mistake

Warnings: This is Shonen ai. Get over it already.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 52: An Innocent Mistake

For the next few days the heir seemed to merely go in and out of consciousness. While Harry was indeed worried at first, the headmaster assured him it was simply, because Tom's body had never really been this sick before and his immune system needed time to strengthen so it could fight back.

Regardless if that was the case, Harry still felt guilty. If he'd just dragged his boyfriend to the infirmary sooner, this whole thing may have been avoided. Instead, harry had allowed Tom to remain stubborn and had not pushed the issue. A stupid mistake.

"Know not to do that again," he muttered. He was going over some of his homework, an essay on Fungus and how certain types were very beneficial for certain potions. He was grateful Hermione brought his homework every night so he could have something to do. His friends wouldn't stay in the infirmary long and more often than not, it was only Hermione who showed up. It seemed Draco was really sore at Tom for lying to him and had yet to forgive him. Harry thought the Slytherin was being foolish. He'd have been glad to have gotten a lie from his boyfriend at the very least. The heir never told him anything. The only thing that made Harry feel good about that was convincing himself that the heir never told him anything, because he didn't want to lie to him. He knew that was hardly the case though.

He slide his herbology book into his book bag and placed the homework on the nightstand by his boyfriend's bed.

"You realize I have my last Quidditch match soon," he said just to break some of the silence. "Do I need to find you a babysitter while I'm gone? It's against Ravenclaw, but Draco's still sore and his team is in first right now. I probably couldn't get him to ignore the match if I paid him. I guess that means I'll have to leave you with Hermione." He hoped his friend wouldn't mind watching his boyfriend and missing the match. It was a really important match, if his team won by three hundred points, they'd win the championship. If they lost or scored lower than the three hundred and whatever else on top of Ravenclaw's possible score, they'd lose. "I know you hate it, but just think. I bet by the time you're better the Quidditch season will be over with." When his boyfriend didn't move to acknowledge anything he let out a sigh and put his hand on Tom's forehead. The Slytherin still seemed to be running a high temperature. "Of course, I'm going to have to try and keep myself focused on the match instead of you. I am worried."

(X)

The next day was in fact the day of the match. The Slytherin had woken up enough to actually hold a conversation, so Harry was standing next to the bed in his Quidditch uniform. Hermione was sitting in the chair Harry usually occupied, a book in her hands.

"Thank again Hermione," he said again. He'd been thanking her all morning. "I mean it. I don't know what I'd have done if you'd said no."

"It's fine. You better win though," she warned him. "And you better not get hurt either."

"Has happened a few times," he agreed, perhaps more than was usual for a Quidditch player. "I should be fine." He took a seat besides his boyfriend who was sitting up and merely glaring at him. "Does your throat still hurt?"

"A bit," he said his voice raspy before he ended up jerking away and coughing into his hand. Frowning Harry grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand and handed it to him. The heir took it when his coughing fit was over and drank.

"I'll make sure to end the match as soon as possible and get back up here okay? I shouldn't be gone for long. Even if we win I'll ditch the celebration and come straight back here. Well, I think I'll grab some butterbeer for us to share first," he added knowing the heir would brighten up at that. Of course the sweet addict did and Harry kissed him on the cheek. "You promise not to kill Hermione while I'm gone right?"

'I promise,' the heir mentally said giving a small nod for Hermione's sake who was watching the exchange. She seemed satisfied and went back to her book.

'She has all the notes and homework assignments you've missed the past week with her. You can start on them if you want. I finished mine already.' He couldn't help feeling like he was abandoning his boyfriend all the same. The heir wasn't putting up a fight and looked so pitiful in the hospital bed, Harry was almost tempted to take his uniform off and just climbed back into bed with his boyfriend. 'I'm sorry I didn't send you here sooner.'

'You tried,' the heir reminded him a slight shock raising in his mind. 'You aren't guilty of this.'

'I feel like I am. I should have just tricked you into going. You would have never gotten his bad if I had.'

"Go," he said out loud then, the two Gryffidor's jumping at the sudden out spoken words. "I will be fine."

"Alright. I'm going. You don't need an—"

"You're going to be late Harry," Hermione said closing the book and standing up. "You wanted me to babysit, I'm babysitting," she said, Tom now staring at his boyfriend looking horrified. "Go win the cup so you can come back up here and watch him yourself."

"Right," Harry said resisting the urge to laugh. "I'll see you in about an hour." Harry was out of the room then, he hadn't realized how close he was pushing the time. He had a game to win and his team mates would kill him if he missed it.

(X)

"Alright, he's gone," Hermione said once Harry was out of line of sight. "You better not do anything foolish. One wrong move and I'll have you stupefied and brought back here."

Tom gave a small nod and slowly got out of the bed. Hermione went over quickly to help him. While she was completely against Tom leaving the infirmary, she couldn't quite ignore his pleadings of wanting to watch. She had half met with his request, both of them agreeing it would be much wiser to watch the game from McGonagalls' office, rather than risk taking the heir outside. This way they could both still watch the match and Tom wouldn't be worse for the experience.

Hermione would be the first to admit she didn't care for the idea. They were breaking a lot of rules, but she'd known from the start without some kind of compromise, Tom would just do whatever he wanted, which would probably result with him spending more time in the infirmary. Needless to say she'd been glad to come to a workable solution with him.

Once they were in McGonagall's office she noticed Tom's body relax and she instantly knew, despite the rule breaking, she'd done the right thing. Feeling slightly better about the whole situation, she walked over to the front of McGonagall's desk and pulled the two chairs over to the window.

"Thanks," the heir muttered sitting down. Hermione did the same.

"You're welcome…You know, you should be happy. This is the last match."

"Just so I can get to see him do it all over again next year," he said not sounding too happy about it.

"He's been keeping up with his studies, he's been with you ever second of the day besides this match and a few practices….what's the real reason this game bothers you so much?"

The heir turned his head slowly and stared at the Gryffindor his eyes blinking a few times. To Hermione it seemed like he was about to hit her aside the head. Instead he shifted his gaze back to the Quidditch pitch, which for the moment was only filled with spectators.

"I keep forgetting," he said quietly having to clear his throat after. "I despise Quidditch. If you remembered, you would too."

"Remember what?" she asked quickly. She remembered Harry mentioning something about remembering back during their Christmas break, but Tom had been quick to silence him. Perhaps she could get it out of the Slytherin now that he was sick? His guard did seem somewhat lower than usual.

"Dumbledore would have my head if I told you," he assured her. Hermione of course didn't believe it. She knew well enough that Tom wasn't afraid of Dumbledore, in fact. He'd be more likely to tell her just to get back at Dumbledore if the headmaster really wanted the information to be kept silent. That meant the reason was Tom's own.

"I won't push it then," she said smiling at him. "Just remember not to get overly excited during the match. I don't want Harry to come back and find you worse than you were before he left."

Tom rolled his eyes at that, but Hermione noticed a slight smile on his face and let it be. Of course he was going to make things easy, but that was half the fun, wasn't it?

(X)

"We can do this," Harry said to his team. They were all gathered in the locker room near the door leading to the Quidditch Pitch. "We've been practicing really hard all year for this. We've got Katie back, we've been playing really great. All we need is three hundred points more than Ravenclaw and we win." The team cheered and Harry couldn't bring himself to go on. They were all so worked up, he thought he might as well allow them that high for the game.

He really did believe everything he'd just said. He knew they could do this, it was just a matter of getting it done and over with so he could get back to his boyfriend. _Don't think about it_ he told himself sternly. If he let his thoughts wonder and didn't pay attention he'd get in trouble.

The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team walked out then towards the pitch. Thousands of cheers erupted from all sides, except of course from Ravenclaw's side. Harry was slightly amused to see that hardly any of the slytherin house had shown up. Perhaps they'd try harder next year?

"Shake hands," Madame Hooch instructed. "And I hope I don't have to stress the words fair game?" she asked looking from Harry to the Ravenclaw Captain. When they both shook their heads, she gave a swift nod. "Mount your brooms!" She ordered both teams doing so. "Begin!"

Both teams were in the air within seconds. Harry was thrilled to see that Katie didn't seem to have lost any of her skills during her long absence. She was quick to get into her usual flight pattern and it was almost like she was never gone.

"Good," Harry muttered to himself looking around the field. It would be smart to find the snitch now and keep an eye on it so the second they reached their point goal he could grab it. He scanned the area trying to find even the smallest glimpse when he looked down in the Gryffindor section of the stands. Draco was sitting there alone looking rather annoyed. Harry didn't blame him. He knew things must have been hard on the Slytherin the past few days. With finding out that Tom had lied to him and the possibility of his boyfriend's team beating his own, that he was sitting alone in the stands since Hermione was with Tom and Ron was up in the air with him.

Harry quickly shook his head trying to get back on the game. There was no point in dwelling on Draco's slight annoyance. The faster they finished the faster the boy could go back to the castle and be with his friends. He started to look around again, no sign of anything. It didn't seem like the other seeker was having any better luck. He knew it had to be around there somewhere though, it was a requirement of the game.

(X)

"Wish he'd hurry this along," Tom said completely annoyed. Despite his hatred for the game, he couldn't deny his happiness at the fact that this was the last match of the entire season. For another year he wouldn't have to deal with any Quidditch talk and they would all once again be focusing on their studies, which is where their brains belonged.

"Why do you hate Quidditch so much? I wasn't much of a fan at first either, but it's not that horrible."

Tom gave her a hard long look before he shook his head slightly. He kept forgetting that everyone had, had their memories altered and they didn't remember the world cup. Of course, he'd had a bit worse experience than a lot of the others anyway.

"You wouldn't understand," he said simply. Not quite a lie, not enough to make her question it much. "I think we should be studying. I feel that defeating Voldemort has nothing to do with broom skills. I think we have a lot more important things to do then fly around in circles chasing balls. And the biggest thing…" He let his voice trail off as he returned his attention back to the game. "I feel like he loves that game more than me most of the time."

"You know that's not true," Hermione said instantly.

"Regardless if it is or not. I just don't like being ignored for a game."

"You don't like being ignored at all," she dared, but the heir knew she was right and was more amused than anything that she brought it up.

"No. I don't." He watched his boyfriend dive for the ground, his nerves nearly going through the roof when the Gryffindor pulled up at the last second. Seeing the crowd cheering loudly and Harry's out stretched arm on top of the excitement through the bond, he knew the match was over. It'd taken only thirty minutes in all, but Gryffindor had managed to win the school cup. "We should head back before he finds out I'm missing."

"Agreed."

(X)

Harry was beyond thrilled when he made his way into the infirmary holding two bottles of butterbeer. He was grinning from ear to ear and upon seeing his boyfriend, kissed him on the forehead and handed him a bottle.

"So I guess you won?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow.

"You'd be right," Harry said dropping onto the bed beside his lover. "It didn't take long either, just like I promised. The team was great. If we'd had, had this line up for the whole year we would have won easily. It was an easy enough game though." He let out a happy sigh and cuddled up next to his boyfriend. The nurse had told him the day before that Tom was no longer contagious, he had just wanted to wait until after the game before testing that theory. "Now we can both be happy. Gryffindor won the cup, no more Quidditch the rest of the school year."

'I can agree to that,' the heir said taking the second bottle of butterbeer and popping it open.

"He didn't give you any trouble, did he Hermione?"

"None at all," Hermione said brightly. "We were here doing homework the entire time."

"Madam Promfrey said you might be released tomorrow as long as your cough stays down. Why not worry about homework later and relax a bit?"

Hermione gave them a small wave and was exiting the infirmary quickly.

'And what exactly did you have in mind to my relaxing?'

"I don't know," the Gryffindor admitted. "Here's a thought. Draco mentioned something to me while I was grabbing the butterbeers. It seems they announced a day ago that there's going to be a spring formal after O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s are over with. We were wondering when we were going to have to finally wear those dress robes, now we know."

'I can't wait,' the heir said rolling his eyes.

"You must still be sick, you love dressing up," the Gryffindor said smirking at him.

The heir glared at him and set his butterbeer down on the nightstand. He wrapped his arms tightly around Harry who happily abandoned his own drink beside's the heir's.

'I was a bit surprised you came back so quickly,' the heir said finally. 'I really thought you'd want to celebrate with your teammates.'

"I can do that later," Harry said seriously. "I couldn't stop thinking about you on the field. I almost didn't see the snitch."

"I love you."

Harry looked down at the heir then a slight blush on his face. He'd said it so simply so honestly it was almost like he'd heard it for the first time out of his boyfriend. He even noticed at the heir had the engagement ring he'd given him for Christmas around his neck on a chain, much like the one Harry had.

"I love you too," he said pulling his boyfriend closer. "And I'm glad you understand that now. I can't wait to go to that dance and show you off," he laughed.

'Darn straight. I'm the best prize there is,' Tom warned him and despite it being a joke, Harry completely agreed. His boyfriend was the best gift he'd ever gotten.

(X)

Harry looked up when he heard the portrait door slam shut, the fat lady yelling about something, no doubt the person who'd just come into the common room. Of course that person was Tom, who cleared the distance between himself and Harry within seconds and chucked his book bag onto the floor. He gave the Gryffindor one look before collapsing into Harry's lap and latching onto him.

"You would think since the entire school knows we're dating, I'd be left alone."

"Getting asked out again?" Harry asked slightly surprised. Tom had been with McGonagall doing a makeup test, he didn't see the professor allowing anyone into the room.

"She didn't," Tom said reading Harry's thoughts. "They were waiting for me right outside the door and McGonagall thought it was funny," the heir pouted.

"They're still alive, right?" Harry asked stroking his boyfriend's hair. "I'd hate to have to lie about your whereabouts…"

"They're alive," he huffed. "Do they really think I'm going to leave you? Do you know how HARD it was for me to…" his voice trailed off, which of course got Harry's attention.

"How hard?"

"Never mind," he muttered.

"You would have been better off making something up. Now I want to know."

"Just drop it, please."

Harry didn't want to, he never did, but the heir looked so exhausted and the last thing the Gryffindor wanted to do was to get his boyfriend sick again. So instead he kept his hand going through the heir's hair. He wished he knew what Tom had almost said. It could be anything. His boyfriend tried hard for just about every step in his life to make sure he came out on top.

"Well then. Have you thought about what you want to do over the summer?" Harry asked then. He could dwell on the words later when it wouldn't cause a fight. "I was thinking we could help out."

"You wouldn't be able to right away," Tom pointed out.

"I know…are you going to?" He asked suddenly afraid of the answer. His boyfriend was a full-fledged wizard, he could go and help the order whenever he wanted to. If that was the case he'd be stuck in the house by himself until July.

"I am," the heir said looking up at Harry. "I'll be doing my part as your body guard," he said lying a hand on the Gryffindor's cheek. "Twenty four seven."

"I feel so much safer," he said rolling his eyes.

"You should. I'm the best one in the little club. I can take on anyone."

"Sure you can handle me?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow. The heir leaned forward then their lips meeting. The innocent kiss turned into a full make out session, and the heir probably would have gotten close to removing Harry's clothes when a student came up holding a scroll.

"Umm…"

Both teens jerked their heads' towards the sound of the voice. Harry recognized the student instantly as Jimmy Peakes from his Quidditch team.

"Is that for me?" Harry asked nodding to the scroll.

"Y-yeah…"

"Another lesson," Harry said taking the scroll. "Thanks Jimmy." He opened the scroll looking over its contents before looking to his boyfriend. "Are you going to come with?"

"I still haven't forgiven him," the heir said folding his arms across his chest and looking away.

"You know, he offered to show me some more of our fourth year," Harry attempted. The heir just glared at him though, grabbed the book bag from the floor and stomped up the stairs to the dorms.

Harry hadn't expected that. Blinking a few times as everything registered, he stood up and headed for the headmaster's office wondering what exactly they'd be learning that evening. Perhaps Dumbledore thought he deserved his entire fourth year memory for having won the Quidditch cup? He could always hope.

He wished his boyfriend would have come with though. It was going to be a long summer if the heir wasn't listening to the leader of the order. Perhaps he could trick them into sharing some sweets together? That would be the easiest way to get the two into one room. He wondered if he could get Mrs. Weasley to make the treats or show him how to.

Those thoughts in mind he didn't even realize he was at the headmaster's office until he heard the gargoyles demanding a password. He said the password and started up the stairs, a new goal in mind. He needed to find out what Dumbledore's favorite sweet was and then his boyfriend's. Hopefully they wouldn't be anything too hard to make.

"Sir?" Harry asked knocking on the door. When he got no answer he opened the door and froze. Snape and Dumbledore were both glaring at each other over Dumbledore's desk, both red in the face. It looked as if they had been fighting quite heatedly. Fwakes seemed glad for a distraction and gave a loud squawk of a hello landing on Harry's shoulder and being on his ear as Hedwig often did. "Is…everything alright?" he asked.

"Perfect," Snape said icily. "I don't care what you think headmaster. This is no time for run arounds," the defense professor said. He turned his dark glare on Harry then, his eyes lingering on him before leaving the room. He slammed the door shut causing a great deal of the portraits to start protesting. Luckily despite the shaking of the bookcases and shelves, nothing fell out.

"I apologize that you had to see that," Dumbledore said letting out a breath and slumping into his chair. "I do wish you would have waited until I said come in however."

"Sorry sir, I just…I was hoping you were going to give me my memories from fourth year, all of them and…" He began crumpling some of the scroll up, Dumbledore staring at him curiously.

"What made you believe I was going to give you your fourth year back?"

"Well, I did win the cup and…It sounds pretty foolish now that I've said it out loud," he admitted dropping the scroll onto Dumbledore's desk and taking a seat. "What's wrong?"

"I wouldn't say anything's wrong," Dumbledore said folding his hands together. "Harry. Do you remember what we talked about last?"

"Of course—"

"And how you told me you wanted to be a part of it?"

"Yes," he said instantly. Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had the headmaster found a Horcrux? Were they one step closer to destroying Voldemort? That'd be a perfect birthday gift, the end of Voldemort. "Have you destroyed it," he asked excitedly.

'Tom, you aren't going to believe this. Dumbledore—' His mind hit a wall block and he angrily sent a mental blast at it. Of course it wasn't going to do anything, but it made him feel bette.r

"Not yet. I have located one," the headmaster said bringing Harry back to reality. "Do you still wish to accompany me then?"

"Of course I do!" Harry said jumping to his feet. "I'm sure Tom will too…if I can convince him…." His voice trailed off as he saw the look on Dumbledore's face. "You don't think he's completely healed yet."

"I assure you he isn't," Dumbledore said shaking his head. "That sickness has weakened him and the stress of the travel alone could harm him greatly. I'd much rather prefer he think we are up here having lessons. He can learn about our success upon our return."

While Harry didn't think this exactly right, he couldn't deny the fact that he agreed with the headmaster. His boyfriend was exhausted just from walking from his classes let alone to wherever Dumbledore was taking them. And what if wherever they went was cold? That could send him right back to the infirmary.

"Alright. I won't say anything. The last thing I want is to spend another week in the infirmary."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore said standing up. "Let us department immediately and be done with this task. However, I do ask that whatever happens Harry, you obey me. If I tell you to do anything, you must do it without question."

"You're not setting me up to attack my own boyfriend or destroy the necklace are you?" Harry asked half joking.

"I doubt you would listen to me then and I could hardly expect that from you," the headmaster said smiling. "No, nothing like that."

"Alright then. Let's do this before lights out. He won't start looking for me until then." Dumbledore was out of his seat then and walked to the door of his office locking it tightly with one move of his wand. "Oh, before we go sir, what's your favorite sweet?" Harry asked before he forgot.

"I much prefer Lemon tarts," he said a smile tugging on his lips. "May I ask what for?"

"Oh just something I'm thinking about," Harry said quickly. "You'll see."

The headmaster motioned to Harry to come near his desk, which the Gryffindor did. When he was standing beside the headmaster Harry saw Dobby waving at him from beside the desk.

"Dobby will take Harry Potter and Dumbledore to the hogs head, yes he will," the elf squeaked. "Is everyone ready?"

"Quite," the headmaster replied cheerfully and took Harry's hand. Harry wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. Within seconds he was no longer within the castle, but standing in front of the hogs head, Dumbledore and Dobby beside him. The house elf gave a quick bow and was gone seconds later. "He will be making sure the castle remains safe in our absence."

"So he'll be making sure Adrese doesn't kill anyone," Harry translated getting a laugh from the headmaster.

"Let us be on our way. We have only so much time to do this and get you back before your boyfriend finds out."

"Yeah," Harry agreed quickly. "How far is it?"

"We'll have to apperate," Dumbledore said. Harry frowned at that.

"I don't have a license," he reminded him.

"So I shall help you. It will be the only way, as you've never been to this location before anyway." Harry hadn't thought about that at first, but he gave a quick nod Dumbledore taking his hand. "On the count of three then Harry." Before Harry could even mentally count though they were gone.

When Harry was aware of his surroundings again, he noticed they were standing on a cliff ledge. He let go of the headmaster's hand, wished he'd brought his boyfriend with, but then thought better of it. He needed to prove to Tom once and for all that he could handle himself. His boyfriend needed to know he could do dangerous things without his help. Wouldn't Tom feel stupid when he came back with the news that he managed to help Dumbledore destroy a Horcrux without his help.

Harry finally noticed the breeze that was bringing water with it, as well as the smell of salt followed by the crashing sounds of waves. He knew they must be near the ocean, but that was about the end of his knowledge. He scanned the area looking for some kind of clue, but he saw nothing, but water and rock, both of which looked extremely dangerous. The water was hitting the sides of the cliff they were on with such force that it was whiter than clear and none of the rocks, besides the flat ledge they were on, had a single smooth side to them.

"I take it Voldemort has been here?" Harry asked trying to imagine how Voldemort or Tom would react to such a location. He didn't think his boyfriend would care one way or another.

"Yes. It is my belief that Voldemort made his way over here during trips from the orphanage. There's a village not too far from here where the orphans probably stayed. Voldemort however would have no doubt been bored staying in a muggle village, especially with the chance to terrorize children here."

That did sound like something both his boyfriend and Voldemort would do.

"So…there's no way he would have gotten here climbing. He used magic," Harry reasoned giving the area another look around. "Why wouldn't the ministry done anything about that? Surely they knew he was using magic. They were aware of my misuse within seconds."

"Not everyone is as closely watched as you are," the headmaster offered with a smile. Harry merely snorted at that. It would be like the ministry to watch him instead of the real threat.

(TBC)

One step closer to the end. As much as I don't want it to, it'll be nice to finally start posting A Wizard's Past chapters. I always feel weird when I get close to the end of a story. I don't like ending things, I like to enjoy them and keep working on them. Granted, at the rate I'm going, I'll be at this for a while regardless. Enjoy.


	53. Partial Solution

So, getting closer…chapter 53. Hoping to have this wrapped up by 55.

Warnings: Shonen ai, gay, slash, whatever you want to call it.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump.

Chapter, 53: Partial Solution

Tom stared down at the black defense book Dumbledore had gotten him at the beginning of summer to keep him preoccupied while he'd been recovering. He couldn't quite place it, but the same feeling he got when Harry was is horrible trouble, like when Umbridge had been torturing him, was coming over him. The dread started filling his mind until he could take it no longer. He knew he should have went with at the very least to try and defend himself.

Sighing he placed the book back within his trunk and headed for the stairs. Perhaps he could at least manage some damage control before Harry disowned him.

(X)

Harry closed his eyes, not that it mattered. The area was dark enough already, eyes opened or not. He tried gathering the energy he knew he'd need though and calm himself. The headmaster had just explained they'd be diving into the extremely dangerous waters to swim through a crack in the cliff and hope they didn't drown when the tide raised. He knew protesting would get him nowhere, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy the actual task at hand.

A small nod to the headmaster and they were climbing down the rock without much hassle. This surprised the Gryffindor given the location and the overall structure of the cliff. He'd expected it at the very least to be slippery.

A gasp escaped his lips when he plunged into the water. He'd not give much thought as to how icy the water might be. If he hadn't gotten himself to focus on the headmaster, he'd have probably frozen to death. Instead he forced his body to move with the shear hope that there would be no water inside the cave and he could dry his clothes.

It didn't take long for them to make it in. To his relief as the hole widened a flat piece of rock slipped into the water so they could easily stride up into the dry air, which Harry did as quickly as his numb legs would allow him. Of course this only made things worse, but he couldn't help himself. He was just so cold, even his teeth were clicking together against his control.

Harry didn't understand how the headmaster seemed unaffected by it all.

"Would you be so kind as to block the bond of yours?" the headmaster asked pleasantly.

Harry didn't like it, but did as he was told. True, the heir had blocked his side awhile back, but Harry was uneasy when both sides were closed. He understood the headmaster's request though. If the bond was opened and Tom found out where and what they were doing, he'd come running, which would do no good for anyone. Rather it would end with Tom no doubt relapsing.

"D, done," he chattered once he'd closed it. Somehow he felt colder now.

"Dear me, I'm sorry Harry." The headmaster pointed his wand at the Gryffindor his clothes instantly dry and warm.

"Thank you," he said honestly. The cold chill in his mind remained, but at least he was physically warm. And now that he was, he was able to focus on what was going on around them. The opening they had swam into was much smaller than Harry had thought it was at first. It was only a few feet long and a couple wide, not enough to hide anything carefully. He assumed, just as the headmaster must have since he was tapping on the cave wall, there must be more to it than what they could see.

He wanted to help, but he wasn't even sure what he could really do so instead he stood there in silence.

"Here we are…" the headmaster said quietly.

"Sir?"

"An opening," the headmaster said cheerfully. "Now to just get it opened." He raised his wand pointing it at the location he'd just tapped and shot a spell at it. Instantly an outline began glowing around the hidden opening of the wall. They waited a moment, but the light suddenly died down leaving nothing behind, but the wall. "Hmm." The headmaster began prodding at the wall again before giving a loud "aha". "Of course, a sacrifice is required."

"What?" Harry asked instantly eyes widening.

"A small one," the headmaster said quickly seemingly amused at Harry's reaction. "Just some blood."

"Oh…right." Harry wouldn't put it past Voldemort however to require a life to get a door open. He'd just as easily kill one of his death eaters for no reason as he would to get a door opened. "Do you want some of my blood?"

"Nonsense. Tom would kill me if I harmed you," he said giving Harry a wink. He took his wand creating a cut as if it were a knife and placed his arm on the wall. The blood dripped onto the wall, the light shooting out again.

(X)

Tom hadn't even made it to where the portrait hung when it flung open and someone toppled in. He smelt the blood before he even saw it, his eyes flashing, hand instantly going to his wand and immediately took aim. The light from his wand showed him the truth of the matter though and he dropped to one knee, wand back in pocket, and was helping his friend up.

"What happened," he demanded as he led a very beaten up Draco towards one of the chairs Harry and him so often made out in.

"Snape," the boy managed and Tom raised an eyebrow. He'd thought the attack had been some sort of revenge from the Slytherin house, a rumor had been going around that they'd be getting revenge on the two snakes hiding behind a bunch of lions.

"Did he blow you up with a potion?" Tom asked half-jokingly. He wouldn't put it past the potion's master to do such a thing if Draco made a foolish mistake. Though the heir couldn't help feeling that the teacher had taken it a bit too far. The cuts on Draco's face looked pretty deep. "Didn't your mother stop him?"

"You need to…My father got in," he said Tom slowly turning back to his friend and studying him. "He took my mother, ordered Snape to…kill Dumbledore or my mother would…I tried to fight him," he said.

One quick look at Draco's hands told Tom he wasn't lying. The Slytherin's wand hand was white and blistered, he'd not only been gripping his wand tightly, but his wand had been destroyed in his hand.

"I don't see Snape going that far—" he started, but Draco sat forward and grabbed the front of Toms' robes suddenly, a leer on his face.

"Listen to me you arrogant git of a love potion," Draco spat and it took every inch of self-control the heir had not to kill him. "My father has my mother and my mother will talk. I don't know where Ron is, but we need to find him too and YOU need to go find Dumbledore and warn him," he said before roughly letting go of the heir.

Tom took a step back his dark glare never leaving Draco's face. To even think that his minion would talk to him like this, but then, that may just show how dire the situation really was.

"Where were they?" he asked quietly. If Draco's father had managed to break into the school that meant others had followed. Lucius was too much of a coward to come in alone.

"Dungeons," Draco said. He seemed to have calmed down now that Tom believed him.

"Alright. Ron's actually upstairs in the dorm. Tell Hermione to get the DA members on alert. They're going to need to protect the other students. I'm going to get ahold of Harry and have him alert Dumbledore." The tenseness seemed to disappear from Draco all together then, which Tom couldn't help smirking at. "You know, if you plan on protecting your boyfriend, you shouldn't be letting your wand get destroyed."

"It wasn't," Draco snapped his usual glare back. The Slytherin removed the very charred, but somehow still in one piece wand. "I didn't drop it."

The heir grinned at that and started out the portrait. He knew he'd chosen right in going to Draco as an ally.

'Love, we've a bit of a problem. It seems some people who weren't on the school's register got in and need to be thrown out,' he called out. He made it out of the portrait and looked up at the fat woman who looked utterly distressed.

"Do not let anyone, but students and all teachers, but Professor Snape in," he instructed.

"Child, I do not take—"

"This is an order from Dumbledore himself. If you have a problem with that, ask the portraits in the headmaster's office after all of this is over." He didn't give the fat lady a chance to ask any more questions and started for the stairs. He'd take care of Snape himself if he had to. He figured taking out Draco's dad would be a much easier source however and more productive. If Lucius was dead then he'd have no hold on Snape.

'Harry, I don't have time for you ignoring me. Even if you hate me right now for our fourth year, you really need…' it was then that he stopped dead in his tracks and realized the bond on Harry's side was firmly shut. He mentally poked at it a few times, but he knew from past experiences that it wasn't about to give.

Frowning he started for the other staircase immediately that would take him to the headmaster's office instead. If he couldn't get a mental message to the headmaster he'd have to deliver the warning himself.

(X)

"We have to get in there….don't we?" Harry asked eyeing the boat suspiciously. The boat was old, the wood thin and rotting. Obviously the Gryffindor didn't trust the thing at all. He turned back to the headmaster who was smiling gently at him. Harry didn't like that either.

"I doubt we'll have any trouble making it across the water. You see, foolish as Voldemort is, this boat is no doubt held up by magic alone, not the boat itself." The words "no doubt" didn't make the situation seem any better. "Did I not ask you to follow every one of my instructions Harry?"

"It's not that I won't get in the boat," Harry said quickly turning back to the rickety old thing. "I'm just worried we're both going to sink to the bottom of this lake in it."

"I highly doubt that." The headmaster still sounded amused and motioned for Harry to get in first. The Gryffindor did so despite all the warning bells going off in his head. The headmaster climbed in a second later, Harry grabbing ahold of both sides of the boat as it rocked. The swaying subsided and the boat started moving towards the island. It would have been a nice ride if they weren't stuck in a cave inside a dingy boat.

"I wish Tom was here," Harry muttered. "I feel bad for having snuck out."

"It's not as if you are cheating on him," the headmaster chuckled. "Think of how proud of you he'll b when you show him a destroyed horocrux."

"I think he'll kill me first, then be proud," Harry said flatly. He knew leaving the castle without telling his boyfriend about something this serious was going to get him the cold shoulder. It would be great if his boyfriend would merely take it as a sign that Harry could indeed hold his own ground to some point without Tom around. The truth was, his boyfriend was going to kill him for putting himself in danger.

"Most likely. I'm sure I'll be right beside you when he's digging the graves for putting his boyfriend in such harm."

"More than…sir….?" He'd been looking at the water wondering what the random strips of white were when the ripples had stopped and he'd gotten a better look. The white rotting form beneath them seemed as broken down and awful as the boat they were in. The eye sockets empty, spider webs had somehow been formed around their faces. Old gashes and wounds covered the white corpses, some of them looking quite infected, others just old. "Are we…?" He thought he was going to be sick.

"Yes Harry. We are sailing over a lake full of corpses."

"There's so many," he breathed. How many people had Voldemort killed just to get the lake filled? Had he killed them all himself or had the dark wizard merely animated some already dead bodies from a few graveyards? The Gryffindor wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"Alright Harry?"

"I'll be fine…why aren't they attacking?" He asked when he realized just how bad this situation could get. He'd known Voldemort would have some sort of barriers protecting something so special, but he'd never dreamt of a sea of bodies.

"I am going to assume that they will not be attacking us just yet. They are no doubt the last defense should anyone actually be able to remove the horocrux. A deterrence if you would. Just remember Harry, these are creatures of darkness, they fear the light and warmth."

If Harry hadn't been so determined to keep himself looking brave, he'd have puked. He knew he had to do this. He had to prove to his boyfriend once and all that he was capable of taking on missions without him around. That he could survive things Just as well as he could. That didn't stop him from wanting his boyfriend by his side though. It wasn't even so much for protection's sake as it was his brains and ability to calm Harry down with a single embrace.

"We'll be back before you know it," the headmaster said as if reading Harry's mind.

Harry gave a small nod. The boat stopped at the edge of the island and the two wizard's climbed out. The only thing on the island was a single basin, which Harry noticed all the green fog was pouring out of. They walked towards it, Harry almost expecting the creatures in the water to jump out. To his relief they didn't and he turned his focus back on the basin and what the headmaster was doing. It seemed Dumbledore was trying all sorts of enchantments to get the basin to empty. Harry really wished his boyfriend was with them now. He'd probably take one look at the basin and know exactly what to do.

"I could show him an image," Harry offered, but the headmaster was shaking his head before he even finished.

"Nonsense. I know what must be done. The only way to empty this basin is to drink the contents inside."

"You can't be serious," Harry snapped. "It could kill you. Tom would kill me! We could…we could have one of the corpses drink it," Harry blurted out quickly.

The headmaster stared at Harry for a moment silently. He didn't seem sure how to react to his new bit of information, but a smile crossed his lips, eyes twinkling and he started towards the water.

"What a brilliant idea Harry. I doubt there is any requirement that the drinker be alive." Harry let out a sigh of relief and followed the headmaster. At least one disaster had been avoided. Dumbledore already had his wand out and was ushering one of the inferi onto the island. It screeched and groaned some ungodly sound and without thinking Harry took his own wand and silenced it. The creature still thrashed, but the headmaster didn't seem the least bit worried. Ropes sprung out of his wand wrapping around the dead thing where it struggled, but made no gains in its release. "Well then! That is done," he said cheerfully. Another wave of his wand and a goblet appeared, which Dumbledore dipped into the liquid and pulled it out. Sure enough, the once impenetrable potion was now swishing in the cup. "I do apologize for putting you through more agony," the headmaster offered. Once again his wand moved and the creature was paralyzed and then the headmaster was pouring the potion down the creature's throat.

Harry was glad the thing was dead, because he was sure the potion would probably have killed it if it hadn't been. He took a step forward cautiously incase the headmaster needed any help and just watched. Even though the thing was dead, he felt bad for forcing it to drink the unknown concoction. Surely it wasn't the corpse's fault for being reanimated.

The basin emptied faster than Harry thought it would and he was glad the task was almost over with neither of them sustaining any damage. He was actually quite proud of himself for thinking of using the inferi instead of the headmaster or himself taking any sips of the potion. Perhaps he would get out of this without his boyfriend murdering him afterwards.

"This is the last one," Dumbledore informed him and Harry nodded. "Be prepared Harry. I am sure the other inferi or some other trap will be set once we remove the horocrux from its sleeping place." Harry gave a quick nod and the headmaster poured the last of the potion into the inferius' mouth. Dumbledore allowed the corpse to fall back then, it was still squirming from what Harry could tell, but not nearly with as much force. "Now for the real ordeal." The headmaster dropped his hand into the basin and grabbed the locket that had been beneath the potion.

Disaster struck within seconds. The horocrux had been removed from the basin, the hands of the creatures from beneath the water shooting up in every direction. Being on an island they were completely surrounded. The headmaster stuck the locket into his pocket and raised his wand. It seemed he wasn't paying attention, because two of the hands from beneath the water enclosed around the headmaster's ankles and in one swift movement was beneath the water.

"Dumbledore!" Harry screamed rushing forward. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could do, but he would rather die trying than see the look on his boyfriend's face. He aimed his wand at the inferius that had the headmaster and yelled the first spell to come mind. "Sectumsempra." To his horror the spell worked, but seemed to have no effect. Another thought occurred to him and that was all he needed. He moved into the water and grabbed Dumbledore's robes moving through them. A few hands started groping at him, but he managed to avoid them. Seconds later his hands enclosed around the dagger the headmaster had with him and he plunged it into the inferius' wrist. With only the frantic speed absolute horror could trigger he sawed off both the hands holding the headmaster and managed to pull him back onto the island.

The headmaster as far as Harry could tell was alive, he was breathing, but he didn't seem quite all there either. One quick glance at his head told Harry he had hit it when he'd gone under and thus would be of no help at the moment. Not that Harry was holding any blame. The headmaster had done all the work so far, it wouldn't hurt him to do some good himself. He wished he'd learned healing magic, something he realized he should ask Hermione about once he was back at Hogwarts. The inferi slowly, but surely began moving out of the water towards them, Harry pulling the headmaster's limp form away from them. He cursed himself now for allowing something like this to happen. If Tom had been there nothing like this would have happened.

"Tom…" He said the name quietly, but it got his brain running. He'd promised Dumbledore to keep the bond closed, but was it worth it? And if he was going to die anyway, didn't he deserve a chance to say goodbye? He didn't need much more encouraging than that. He opened the bond as fast as possible and ignored the extreme rush of emotions that seemed to be coming in from the other side. 'TOM! W—'

'FIRE!' Came the mental scream and Harry wasn't sure if Hogwarts was on fire or if his boyfriend was merely screaming at him to use the spell. He hoped for the later, because he lifted his wand and screamed out the spell that would conjure fire as quickly as he could. The flames began engulfing the Inferi and while Harry was wondering if he should cast another spell, the headmaster had gotten to his knees and casted a much stronger ring of fire. It surrounded the island they were on and then swept out taking every Inferi in its path to ashes.

'They're gone,' Harry told his boyfriend nearly going to his own knees from relief. 'Thanks.'

'What in the bloody hell is going on?!' the heir demanded. The anger from the heir's side was evident, enough to send flames through their bond almost. 'What did you do to Dumbledore?'

'I'm sorry. We're going to be heading back now. I have to get him out of here. I hope I can apperate properly. Got to get him to the infirmary.'

'The potion's master has gone mad. Lucius came in and kidnapped Draco's mother. He's using her to get Snape to attack the school.'

It took Harry a second to digest the information. He looked down at the kneeling headmaster, cursed and knelt down to lift the headmaster to his feet. He put as much of the headmaster's weight as he could on his shoulder and started towards the boat.

'Well, it's a good thing we didn't bring you with. No one would be around to defend the school then right?'

'I'll deal with you later,' the heir snapped back coldly. 'To think you would leave me here, because of a cold. Get my father back to the school now.'

The bond snapped shut on the heir's side and Harry let out a breath. So the heir was mad at him for this, but he'd have to deal with that later. There were so many issues wrong with his boyfriend's line of logic for his anger, but then, when was anger ever really logical?

"Right, have to get us back first," Harry said. He had some difficulty getting the headmaster into the boat with him, but he managed. "Are you alright sir?"

"I bet he's mad," the headmaster managed.

"….Yeah." Harry said slightly unnerved that Dumbledore knew they'd been mentally talking. "He said he'd deal with me after I got his father home though." He hoped the words would make the headmaster feel better. After all, the two had been fighting for the past few weeks, Tom saying that was probably as close as an apology as he was going to make.

"Did he now?" the headmaster asked. The headmaster's head drooped forward after that, a smile on his face. Harry nearly jerked them out of the boat, but realized that the headmaster was merely drifting into unconsciousness, not dying. At least he hoped that was the case.

They made it to the other side safely enough and he pulled the headmaster out of the boat. He hoped he didn't accidentally leave behind some of the headmaster's body parts when he apperated back to the school. He dragged him towards the cave entrance only to run into the barrier. He wasn't sure what he should do then, remembered he still had Dumbledore's knife in his pocket and grabbed it. He ran it across his arm, forced himself to ignore the pain and smeared the blood over the wall. It took a few tries, but he managed to find the location and the door began glowing instantly as it reacted to the blood. They stepped through the door way and out into the antechamber.

The last thing Harry wanted to do was climb back into the water, especially not with the headmaster holding him down. He hoped he could manage to keep them both afloat. He closed his eyes for a moment, steadied himself and got into the water. The shock of the cold, more so where he'd cut his arm, seemed to break through their bond, because Harry felt a stream of worry going through his mind that he was pretty sure wasn't his own.

'I'm bringing him back, I promise,' Harry said hoping the heir was at least listening. 'He's alright. Just have to get through this water.' He got no response, but he didn't have the energy to worry about that. He knew if he stopped to think about anything else besides getting farther away from the cave so he could apperate they'd both be sinking soon.

It took a great deal of effort, but he managed to get a decent distance away from the cave. When he was sure he was far enough away he closed his eyes holding the headmaster close. "1….2….3…"

Harry focused as hard as he could on the gate to Hogwarts and yelled out the spell. The usual smashing feeling came over him and he was flying through darkness until suddenly the headmaster and he were in front of the gate. Dumbledore was awake, sort of, and they were both tired and wet, but they had managed it. They were both back at Hogwarts and now they needed to help the school.

"Sir," Harry said pointing at the dark mark his stomach dropping. Despite the headmaster's dizziness he seemed to be able to see perfectly, because he was on his feet and staggering forward instantly. The gates flew open, shields dropping and moving as the headmaster pushed his way through. Harry was shocked to see all the extra protection for the school, not that he wasn't glad. Of course, not that it seemed to have done any good. The gate slammed shut behind them, Harry doing his best now to keep up with the headmaster.

"What do you know," he ordered the Gryffindor.

"Tom said Draco's mom's is being held hostage and Snape is helping death eaters into the school. They already attacked Draco." That last bit of information had not been spoken to him, but he'd seen the image of his friend when Tom had been telling him what was going on. "He didn't know everything that was going on. He was running up to your office after Draco found him."

"Of course."

Harry stared at the headmaster in shock. He'd expected a bit more of a reaction. It dawned on him perhaps moving forward was just the headmaster's way of dealing with the situation. It had worked for him getting them back to the school after all.

'Tom can you hear me? We're here. What's going on?' Harry called out. The bond was still blocked, only that small sliver that had broken open from the shock of water there. Harry hoped he could hear him.

They managed to get into the school without any resistance, the halls seemed empty and Harry was almost beginning to think the dark mark had been some sick joke. There was no screaming, no sounds of a fight, nothing.

"Sir,"

"Where is Aderse?" Dumbledore asked and Harry did a quick mental scan. His boyfriend still seemed to be by the headmaster's office. "In front of your office," he said and the headmaster started that way. Harry followed after. He knew he should go check on his friends, but Harry was sure if all three of them were together they could easily clean up the school.

'We're almost there.'

'Coming,' came the instant response. It was tinged with so much worry, anger, and relief Harry winced, but even so, he was glad his boyfriend was on his way. They could meet and get this ordeal over with. Then they could get onto their real mission of the night, destroying the Horocrux. The three of them met soon enough in the hall in front of Dumbledore's the office. "You fool," the heir hissed in the snake language throwing his arms tightly around Harry the first chance he got. "If we weren't at war I'd kill you myself," he added closing his eyes. "What were you thinking?!"

"Something stupid," Harry admitted sheepishly. "How many death eaters are in the school?"

"I don't know," the heir admitted. "I haven't ran into a single one. I've been looking….you don't think Draco was lying do you?"

"What would he possibly gain from lying?" Harry asked frowning.

The heir came close to responding, but the two of them found themselves slammed into the gargoyle statue. Harry was seeing stars, his head throbbing as he tried to piece together what had just happened. Tom was growling, his wand was out, but he was on the floor next to Harry himself, blood pouring down his forehead. Dumbledore was on the other side of the hall, somehow he'd managed to land on his feet, his wand out.

"Guess he wasn't," the heir said his eyes narrowing on the death eater in front of them.

"Look what we have here. It's Lord Voldemort's double," the death eater taunted. Harry saw the heir flinch, but he remained where he was, a good sign he hadn't lost his mind due to the insult.

"What a treat," another one said coming around the corner and standing beside the first one. "We killed two of your little friends over there," he taunted. Harry's eyes widened at that, but he knew he had to keep calm. If he lost his senses then he might not react quickly enough and someone else might join the other two dead. He couldn't let himself be responsible for that. He couldn't handle being the reason someone else died. Not again.

"Which two?" The heir asked as if it didn't matter. "Probably some first years, students I've never even met. Why should I care?"

'Tom!'

"You really are cold. Are you sure you don't belong with us?" the first death eater asked.

"Adrese is my son. He is of no use to Voldemort, nor will he ever be of any use to you," Dumbledore said getting to his feet slowly. "And while he is not always the righteous of wizards, he is the best wizard I have ever come to know."

Both students and death eaters were staring at Dumbledore in shock at that. Tom's face was red, his mind reeling with embarrassment. The two death eaters were of course more stunned, which seemed to be what the headmaster was going after. The green light signifying the death spell shot out of Dumbledore's wand and took down the death eater that had dared to question Tom's loyalties.

(TBC)

Okay, this chapter's done. Moving on.


End file.
